Aon Center (Los Angeles)

Aon Center (Los Angeles)
Name	Aon Center (Los Angeles)
Location	Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States
Start date	1972
Completion date	1973
Building type	Office
Roof	858 ft (262 m)
Floor count	62
Elevator count	28
Architect	Charles Luckman
Structural engineer	Eero Saarinen
Developer	Trammell Crow
Owner	CommonWealth REIT

Aon Center (Los Angeles) is a 62-story office skyscraper in Downtown Los Angeles completed in 1973. Standing among the tallest towers in California and the United States, it anchors part of the Financial District, Los Angeles skyline near Pershing Square and Bunker Hill. The tower has hosted major corporate headquarters, law firms, and financial institutions, and has appeared in numerous films and television productions set in Los Angeles.

History

Construction of the tower began in the early 1970s amid a wave of high-rise development in Los Angeles driven by firms such as Trammell Crow and investors from New York City and Chicago. The project was sited on formerly low-rise parcels near Hill Street and Figueroa Street, close to Pershing Square and the Los Angeles Central Library district. Its completion in 1973 coincided with contemporaneous openings of other regional towers like Bank of America Plaza (San Francisco) expansions and redevelopment initiatives tied to municipal planning under mayors including Tom Bradley. Early tenants included national corporations relocating from San Francisco and New York City to capitalize on California's growing markets, among them insurance companies and trading firms.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the building changed corporate signage and tenancy following mergers involving firms such as Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, Aetna, and later Aon Corporation. Ownership transfers involved entities like MetLife and institutional investors from Asia and Europe, reflecting global capital flows into Los Angeles real estate. The skyscraper has been subject to municipal seismic retrofit policies introduced after events like the Northridge earthquake.

Architecture and design

The tower was designed by architect Charles Luckman with engineering input aligned to high-rise practice popularized by firms from Chicago and New York City. Its rectilinear profile and uniform facade of polished white granite and vertical glazing follow an International Style lineage linked to projects by Mies van der Rohe and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The lobby interiors originally featured public art installations and commissionings related to the Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art era and engage plaza-level relationships similar to those at Bank of America Plaza (Los Angeles) developments.

Structurally the tower incorporated late-20th century high-strength steel and concrete composites, reflecting codes influenced by engineering responses to incidents such as the World Trade Center (1973) debates on fireproofing. The building's mechanical systems and elevator banks were configured to serve dense tenancy models used by firms like Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and multinational insurers from London and Tokyo.

Tenants and usage

Major tenants over time have included multinational insurance brokers, legal firms, and financial services companies such as Aon Corporation, Paul Hastings, Latham & Watkins, and regional offices for institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. The tower houses trading floors, corporate headquarters suites, and professional services offices, alongside ground-floor retail amenities similar to those found in United States Bank Tower and Gas Company Tower. Conference facilities in the building accommodate events tied to organizations like the Los Angeles County Bar Association and industry groups including California Chamber of Commerce affiliates.

Public access areas have been used for civic meetings and art displays linked to local institutions such as the Los Angeles Conservancy and rotating exhibitions supported by The Getty and Los Angeles County Museum of Art partnerships.

Ownership and management

The property has been owned and managed by a succession of real estate investment trusts, pension funds, and private equity firms, paralleling transactions that involved entities like Blackstone Group, MetLife, and Colony Capital. Asset management has been overseen by institutional property managers experienced in large urban portfolios, coordinating with city agencies including Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and regulatory compliance frameworks tied to California Coastal Commission-adjacent urban policies. Leasing operations often engaged brokers from firms like CBRE Group and JLL (company).

Renovations and incidents

Over its operational life the tower underwent major lobby renovations, facade cleaning campaigns, and mechanical upgrades during retrofit programs enacted after seismic events such as the Northridge earthquake and in anticipation of regulations stemming from reports by US Geological Survey. Elevator modernizations were performed in phases with contractors similar to Otis Worldwide and Schindler Group. Notable incidents have included isolated power outages, vehicular impacts at plaza entrances, and security responses coordinated with Los Angeles Police Department units; none resulted in long-term structural compromise. Periodic emergency drills have involved agencies including Los Angeles Fire Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency exercises.

Cultural significance and media appearances

The skyscraper's profile has appeared in establishing shots for films and television series set in Los Angeles, including scenes alongside landmarks such as Union Station (Los Angeles), Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Griffith Observatory. Production credits link the tower visually to works by studios such as Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Studios, and to directors who have staged urban sequences with towers like those by Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, and Christopher Nolan. Photographers and visual artists from institutions like Getty Images and Los Angeles County Museum of Art have featured the building in architectural studies and exhibitions exploring Los Angeles skyline imagery.

The tower remains a fixture of the Downtown Los Angeles skyline and is cited in urban studies alongside towers such as US Bank Tower (Los Angeles), Wilshire Grand Center, and Gas Company Tower in analyses by academic centers at University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles.

Category:Skyscrapers in Los Angeles Category:Office buildings completed in 1973