Every city has a landmark that is the pinnacle of its architectural greatness and exemplifies its stature on a world scale. For Los Angeles, this is it. At 1,017 feet it is the tallest building between Chicago and Hong Kong, beating out the Chase Tower in Houston by just 15 feet, though it is two floors shorter. It can be described as a series of overlapping spiraling cubes. The result is a building that is both circular and square. Its shape is aesthetically pleasing to the public, and provides numerous high-priced corner offices that are so important to make such a massive undertaking financially successful. At its peak is a structure sometimes called a crown or "lighthouse" for lack of a better term. It was called the "Library Tower" because of its proximity to the city's beloved Central Library and because it and the Gas Company Building had to purchase the library's air rights in order to exceed the height limit imposed on the area. For a while it was called "First Interstate World Center" after being bought by First Interstate bank. That bank has since merged with Wells Fargo and the "Library Tower" moniker is safely restored.

Photograph courtesy of Dave Liu.