Aon Center (Los Angeles)

Aon Center is a 62-story, Modernist office skyscraper located at 707 Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles, California. Designed by Charles Luckman, and completed in 1973, the rectangular black building with white trim is remarkably slender for a skyscraper in a seismically active area. It is the second-tallest building in Los Angeles, and the second tallest in California. The logo of the Aon Corporation, its anchor tenant, is displayed at the top in red.

History

Aon Center was originally named the United California Bank Building from its completion in 1973 until 1984, when it became First Interstate Tower. It was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River when built, until surpassed by the Texas Commerce Tower in 1982. It remained the tallest building in Los Angeles until 1989 when Library Tower (now U.S. Bank Tower) was completed. Between 1998 and 2003, there were no logos on the building.

Fire

On May 4, 1988, a fire that began on the 12th floor just after 10:00 PM PST burned for four hours, destroyed five floors, injured 40 people, and left one maintenance worker dead when the elevator the worker was riding opened onto the burning 12th floor. The fire was so severe because the building was not equipped with a sprinkler system, which was not required for office towers at the time construction was completed in 1973. A sprinkler system was 90% installed at the time of the fire, however, the system was...
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