List of tallest buildings in Los Angeles facts for kids

Los Angeles, California, is home to many impressive skyscrapers! The tallest building in the city is the Wilshire Grand Center, which stands at an amazing 1,100 feet (335 meters) tall. It became the city's tallest building in 2017. It's also the tallest building in California and the tallest building in the western United States, west of the Mississippi River. In fact, six out of the ten tallest buildings in California are right here in Los Angeles.

The U.S. Bank Tower is the second-tallest building in Los Angeles. It has 73 stories and reaches 1,018 feet (310 meters) into the sky in Downtown Los Angeles. It was finished in 1989.

The story of skyscrapers in Los Angeles began in 1903 with the Braly Building. This building is often seen as the city's first "high-rise." It has 13 floors and is 151 feet (46 meters) tall. It was first built for businesses but is now used for homes.

For a long time, Los Angeles had rules about how tall buildings could be. In 1904, the city said no building could be taller than 150 feet (46 meters). There was one special exception: Los Angeles City Hall, built between 1926 and 1928, which stands at 454 feet (138 meters). This rule meant most buildings could only be about 13 stories high. The city made this rule because they were worried about too much traffic and building.

The height limit was finally removed in Downtown Los Angeles in 1957. After that, in 1958, they added a rule that new tall buildings needed flat roofs. This was to help firefighters.

Los Angeles then had a huge building boom from the early 1960s to the early 1990s. During this time, 17 of the city's 30 tallest buildings were completed! This included the U.S. Bank Tower, the Aon Center, and Two California Plaza. Building modern skyscrapers in Los Angeles can be tricky and expensive because of the city's strict safety rules, especially for earthquakes.

Still, many amazing skyscrapers stand tall across the Los Angeles skyline. You can see them in Downtown Los Angeles (often called DTLA), Koreatown, along Wilshire Corridor and Miracle Mile, and in Century City. Other areas with tall buildings include Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the Hollywood area, and places in the San Fernando Valley like Warner Center, Encino, and Universal City. Sometimes, visitors even confuse the tall buildings in Westwood and Century City with those in Downtown LA! The flat roof rule was removed in 2014.

As of August 2023, Los Angeles has over 816 high-rise buildings that are taller than 100 feet (30 meters). Most of these are apartment buildings. The city has 54 buildings over 400 feet (122 meters) and 21 buildings over 600 feet (183 meters). This includes two "supertall" buildings (over 1,000 feet or 305 meters): the Wilshire Grand Center and the U.S. Bank Tower. Los Angeles has the best skyline on the Pacific coast and ranks fifth in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, and Houston.

Los Angeles' Tallest Buildings

The tallest buildings in Los Angeles

Here's a quick look at how many buildings Los Angeles has in different height ranges:

This list shows the tallest skyscrapers in Los Angeles that are at least 400 feet (122 meters) tall. The height includes spires and cool architectural parts, but not antenna masts. If a rank has an equal sign (=) next to it, it means two or more buildings are the same height. The "Year" column shows when the building was finished.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Architect	Floors	Year	Main Use	Interesting Facts
1	Wilshire Grand Center		1,100 (335)	AC Martin Partners	73	2016	Office/Hotel	The tallest building in California and the western U.S. It topped out (reached its full height) in 2016 and opened in 2017.
2	U.S. Bank Tower		1,018 (310)	Henry N. Cobb	73	1989	Office	It was once the tallest building in the world with a helipad on its roof. It was also the tallest building in an active earthquake area when it was built.
3	Aon Center		858 (262)	Charles Luckman	62	1972	Office	The tallest building finished in Los Angeles during the 1970s.
4	Two California Plaza		750 (229)	Arthur Erickson	54	1992	Office	The tallest building finished in Los Angeles during the 1990s.
5	Gas Company Tower		749 (228)	Richard Keating	52	1991	Office	A very tall building in the United States.
6	Bank of America Plaza		735 (224)	AC Martin Partners	55	1974	Office	Has had several names over the years, including Security Pacific Bank Plaza.
7	777 Tower		725 (221)	César Pelli	52	1991	Office	Another one of the tallest buildings in the United States.
8	Wells Fargo Tower		723 (220)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	54	1983	Office	Also ranks among the tallest buildings in the United States.
9	Figueroa at Wilshire		717 (219)	AC Martin Partners	53	1990	Office	Formerly known as the Sanwa Bank Building.
10=	City National Tower		699 (213)	AC Martin Partners	52	1971	Office	One of the tallest twin towers in Los Angeles.
10=	Paul Hastings Tower		699 (213)	AC Martin Partners	52	1971	Office	The other half of the tallest twin towers in Los Angeles.
12	The Beaudry		695 (212)	Marmol Radziner	52	2023	Residential	This is the tallest building in Los Angeles used only for homes.
13	Oceanwide Plaza Tower I		677 (206)	CallisonRTKL	49	On Hold	Residential	This building is topped off (reached full height) but the inside is not finished.
14	The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles		667 (203)	Gensler	54	2010	Hotel/Residential	This was the tallest building finished in Los Angeles in the 2010s until the Wilshire Grand Center.
15	Metropolis Tower D		647 (197)	Harley Ellis Devereaux	58	2019	Residential	Located at 889 Francisco Street.
16	820 Olive		637 (194)	Onni Group	49	2019	Residential	Was the tallest residential building in California when it was finished.
17	FourFortyFour South Flower		625 (191)	AC Martin Partners	48	1981	Office	Formerly known as Citigroup Center.
18	611 Place		620 (189)	William Pereira	42	1969	Office	The tallest building finished in Los Angeles during the 1960s.
19	KPMG Tower		606 (185)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	42	1984	Office
20=	Century Plaza North Tower		600 (183)	Pei Cobb Freed & Partners	46	2021	Residential	A new condo tower added to the renovated Century Plaza Hotel.
20=	Century Plaza South Tower		600 (183)	Pei Cobb Freed & Partners	46	2021	Residential	These are the tallest buildings in Los Angeles located outside of the main downtown area.
22	One California Plaza		578 (176)	Arthur Erickson	42	1985	Office
23=	Century Plaza Tower I		571 (174)	Minoru Yamasaki	44	1975	Office	Has a similar design to the World Trade Center towers, designed by the same architect.
23=	Century Plaza Tower II		571 (174)	Minoru Yamasaki	44	1975	Office	Also designed by Minoru Yamasaki.
25	Ernst & Young Plaza		534 (163)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	41	1985	Office

Buildings Being Built

This section lists buildings that are currently under construction in Los Angeles and are planned to be at least 300 feet (91 meters) tall.

Future Buildings (Approved and Proposed)

This list includes buildings that have been approved or are being planned to be over 300 feet (91 meters) tall. Some of the tallest proposed buildings are The LA Grand Hotel (1,108 feet or 338 meters), Figueroa Centre (975 feet or 297 meters), and Angels Landing (854 feet or 260 meters).

History of Tallest Buildings

Los Angeles City Hall, shown here in 1931, was built in 1928 and was the tallest structure in the city until 1968.

This list shows the buildings that were once the tallest in Los Angeles.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Notes
Braly Building		408 South Spring Street	1903–1907	151 (46)	13	Often considered the first high-rise in Los Angeles.
Security Building		510 South Spring Street	1907–1911	165 (50)	11
A.G. Bartlett Building		651 South Spring Street	1911–1916	190 (58)	14
Texaco Building		929 South Broadway	1927–1928	242 (74)	13
Los Angeles City Hall		200 North Spring Street	1928–1968	454 (138)	32	Was the tallest building for 40 years!
Union Bank Plaza		445 South Figueroa Street	1968–1969	516 (157)	40	The first skyscraper built after the city lifted its height limit in 1957.
611 Place		611 West 6th Street	1969–1972	620 (189)	42
City National Tower		555 South Flower Street	1972–1974	699 (213)	52
Aon Center		707 Wilshire Boulevard	1974–1989	858 (262)	62
U.S. Bank Tower		633 West 5th Street	1989–2016	1,018 (310)	73
Wilshire Grand Tower		Figueroa and 7th	2016–present	1,100 (335)	73	The current tallest building in Los Angeles.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Edificios más altos de Los Ángeles para niños

• Architecture of Los Angeles
• List of tallest buildings in California