Wilshire Grand’s Big Reveal

The Wilshire Grand Center is now the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and, of note to Pollstar subscribers, home of the InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles – which plays host to Pollstar Live! Feb. 6-8.

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill – Wilshire Grand Center
The Wilshire Grand Center puts on a light show to celebrate its grand opening June 23.

The $1.2 billion building’s spine and a sail-shaped crown structure have programmable LEDs that can provide colorful illuminations and visuals that were shown off during the Wilshire Grand’s official opening June 23.

But for Pollstar Live! purposes, it’s important to note that the InterContinental hotel contains 889 rooms that are sure to fill up quickly, 94,000 square feet of event space, a shopping mall, and observation deck.

At 73 stories, the building commands stunning views of Los Angeles from rooftop Spire 73, the highest open-air bar in the Western Hemisphere. In addition to the view, Spire 73 sports fire pits, outside seats and lounge cabanas. It’s also got a glass enclosure to block winds.

Not from California? Feeling a little squeamish about Santa Ana winds and earthquakes? Fear not. The 1,100-foot-high tower includes a massive, stabilizing central core and braces designed to act as shock absorbers to withstand them both, with the building engineered to withstand about a magnitude 7.5 quake.

But enough about earthquakes; here’s a fun fact: Wilshire Grand Center was also the holder of the Guinness World Record for continuous concrete pour during construction, when 21,200 cubic yards of concrete weighing 82 million pounds was poured over 18 hours to create the foundation in 2014. A mall in the United Arab Emirates has since surpassed that record.

Early registration has begun for Pollstar Live!, and additional registration, hotel reservation information, awards ballots and more will be arriving in email boxes as the conference approaches.