Glass sky slide opens in LA
What do you get when you combine the tallest building in Los Angeles with a 46-foot glass sky slide? You get a thrill ride unlike any other. The OUE Skyspace LA opened last month to visitors. The glass sky slide was constructed near the top of the U.S. Bank Tower, the tallest skyscraper in the city. The glass slide offers panoramic views of the city, and promises to be a big-city attraction like no other.
Glass sky slide aims to be key tourist attraction
The slide takes riders just one floor down – from the 70th floor to the 69th floor, but the slide is suspended nearly 1,000 feet in the air. The slide is constructed of 1.25″ thick glass panels on all sides and sends visitors into California’s largest open-air observation deck, which wraps around the 69th floor of the US Bank Tower.
Prospective sky riders can purchase tickets for the attraction online, and prices start at $27 for a single day, single visit admission for children between the ages of 5 and 12. Visitors over the age of 13 will pay $33 for a single-day admission ticket. The tickets are timed-entry, and give visitors access to the sky slide and all four floors of the Skyspace LA exhibit, including two outdoor observation decks. Visitors who can do without the thrill can purchase tickets for the Skyspace LA exhibit, sans the slide. Exhibit-only admission ticket range between $19 and $25.
A VIP experience ticket is also available, which allows visitors to arrive at their own convenience and ride the slide. Prices for VIP tickets start at $48. The space is also available for private rentals and can accommodate as many as 300 people at one time. The observation decks have a maximum capacity of 900 people.
The Skyspace attraction has been in the works for about a year. The US Bank Tower was purchased in 2013 by OUE Ltd., a Singapore-based firm. Originally called The Library Tower, the US Bank Tower was built in 1989 as a mixed-use retail and office space. Before the Library Tower opened, more than 80% of its space was rented to corporate clientele. It has recently fallen on hard times and its occupancy rate dropped to just about 50%, but OUE Ltd., is betting on a resurgence of the area surrounding the US Tower Building. The Skyspace attraction, including the glass slide and observation decks, is operated by Legends, an entertainment firm that also owns the New York Yankees major league baseball team and the Dallas Cowboys NFL franchise.
Landmark buildings in Chicago and New York City have offered glass observation deck access to visitors for years. Although the US Bank Tower is shorter than most observation decks in other cities, the geography of the area permits extensive views of the city. Under new management, and with significant investment in the building, occupancy rate is over 80%, and the building is ready to welcome visitors to the highest floors of the structure.
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Photo Credit: Joseph Engel , via Flickr.com