Aon Center is a 62-story

Storey

A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...

, 262 m (859.6 ft) Modernist

Modern architecture

Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 office skyscraper located at 707 Wilshire Boulevard

Wilshire Boulevard

Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...

 in downtown Los Angeles

Downtown Los Angeles

Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. Designed by Charles Luckman

Charles Luckman

Charles Luckman was a businessman and an American architect, famous as the "Boy Wonder of American Business" when he was named president of the Pepsodent toothpaste company in 1939 at the age of thirty...

, 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

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 when built, until surpassed by the Texas Commerce Tower

JPMorgan Chase Tower (Houston)

JPMorgan Chase Tower, formerly Texas Commerce Tower, is a , 75-story skyscraper in Houston, Texas. It is currently the tallest building in the city, the tallest building in Texas, the tallest five-sided building in the world, 12th tallest building in the United States, and the 54th tallest building...

 in 1982. It remained the tallest building in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 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 inoperative, awaiting the installation of water flow alarms. The fire was eventually contained at 2:19 AM, and caused $50 million in damages. Repair work took four months. Because of the fire, Los Angeles building codes were changed, requiring all high-rises to be equipped with fire sprinklers. This modified a 1974 ordinance that only required new buildings to contain fire sprinkler systems, grandfathering

Grandfather clause

Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...

 older buildings.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Los Angeles
• Aon Center (Chicago)
  Aon Center (Chicago)
  The Aon Center is a modern skyscraper in the Chicago Loop, Chicago, Illinois, United States, designed by architect firms Edward Durell Stone and The Perkins and Will partnership, and completed in 1973 as the Standard Oil Building...
  
  

External links

• First Interstate Bank Fire Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive