A 160-foot spire is seen atop the Wilshire Grand Tower building, now the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Reed Saxon / AP
A 160-foot spire is seen atop the Wilshire Grand Tower building, now the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Reed Saxon / AP

Los Angeles’ 1,100-foot tower now the tallest west of Mississippi



A new tower in downtown Los Angeles has become the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.

Construction workers on Saturday placed a 10-tonne spire atop the Wilshire Grand Tower. The spire adds 160 feet to the 73-storey building. That makes it 1,100 feet high.

That is 82 feet higher than nearby US Bank Tower, which held the tallest building record since 1989.

The US$1 billion hotel/office complex, being developed by Korean Air, is about 85 per cent finished and scheduled to be completed in March next year.

“The Wilshire Grand is an important part of the economic resurgence that is transforming LA’s skyline and has created 122,000 new jobs across our city,” said the mayor Eric Garcetti.

“I congratulate the project team on reaching this milestone, and look forward to seeing the tallest building west of the Mississippi open its doors next year.”

The city councillor Jose Huizar, who represents the downtown area, said: “The Wilshire Grand is not only the tallest building in the [US] West, it’s an entertainment destination that will represent the very best of what downtown Los Angeles has to offer.

business@thenational.ae

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950

Engine 3.6-litre V6

Gearbox Eight-speed automatic

Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm

Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202-litre%20direct%20injection%20turbo%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%207-speed%20automatic%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20261hp%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20400Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20From%20Dh134%2C999%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A