Library Tower

Height to roof: 310 meters
Date built: 1990
Use: Office
Location: 633 W 5th St, LA
Architect: I.M Pei
 

This is a solid metal souvenir replica of the mighty Library Tower of Los Angeles. Overall height measures 4.25". The base of this cool paperweight measures 1.5" x 1.2". On the front, the base reads in raised lettering, "LIBRARY". On the back, "TOWER". Left side, "L.A." and right side, "310M".

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. 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. The building was designed to resist an earthquake 8.3 on the Richter scale.