You’ve seen them. Even if you don’t live in California, you’ve likely caught a glimpse of those two ink-black monoliths slicing through the Downtown Los Angeles skyline in a movie or a car commercial. They’re the twin towers in LA, officially known as City National Plaza. For a long time, people just called them the ARCO Towers. They aren't just buildings; they are the literal anchors of the Financial District.
Ever wonder why they look so... familiar?
There’s a reason for that. When they were completed in the early 1970s, they weren’t just "big buildings." They were a statement. Los Angeles was trying to prove it had a "real" downtown, moving away from the sprawling suburban image and toward a vertical future. Standing at 699 feet, these two giants were the tallest structures in the city for over a decade. They dominated.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Twin Towers in LA
A lot of folks get the history mixed up. They think these towers were built to mimic the World Trade Center in New York. While the timing overlaps—the Twin Towers in LA were finished in 1972, right around when the North Tower in NYC was being completed—the design philosophy was different.
The architect, Albert C. Martin & Associates, went for a look that felt heavy and permanent. While the New York towers used a tube-frame design with closely spaced perimeter columns, the LA twins utilize a steel frame encased in polished forest-green granite. It looks black from a distance. Up close? It’s deep, rich, and surprisingly detailed.
They are identical. Twins.
It’s interesting because LA isn't really a "twin" city. We like variety. We have the circular Capitol Records building and the weird, curvy Walt Disney Concert Hall. Yet, these two slabs of granite and glass provide a symmetry that shouldn't work in a city as chaotic as Los Angeles, but somehow, it does.
The Corporate Drama and the ARCO Legacy
For decades, the logo at the top said ARCO. The Atlantic Richfield Company was the king of the hill here. If you worked in oil or high finance in the 70s and 80s, this was the center of your universe.
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Then things changed. Mergers happened. City National Bank moved in.
It’s funny how buildings outlast the companies that build them. Today, we call them City National Plaza, but if you talk to an old-school Angeleno who hasn't checked a map since 1995, they’re still the ARCO Plaza. The name sticks because the towers are landmarks. They represent an era when downtown was a ghost town after 5:00 PM. Back then, these towers were like islands in a sea of parking lots.
Architecture That Actually Matters
Let's talk about the 52 floors. Each tower has them.
The design is technically Late Modernist. It’s all about clean lines. No fuss. No gargoyles. Just verticality. The granite used on the exterior was actually imported from Canada, which is a fun bit of trivia if you’re into rock types. It’s polished so finely that on a sunny day—which is basically every day in LA—the towers reflect the surrounding buildings like a dark mirror.
There's a massive plaza between them. It’s sunken.
That plaza is home to "Double Ascension," a bright red sculpture by Herbert Bayer. You can't miss it. It looks like a giant, stylized staircase or maybe a DNA strand painted fire-engine red. It provides a violent splash of color against the dark, stoic backdrop of the towers. It’s one of the most photographed spots in DTLA, and honestly, it’s one of the few places in the Financial District that feels human-scale.
The Underground Secret of City National Plaza
Most tourists walk past the towers and see two big boxes. They miss the best part.
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Beneath your feet, when you’re standing on that plaza, is a subterranean mall. It’s huge. In the 70s, this was the place to go. It was the largest underground shopping center in the world at the time of its opening. Think about that for a second. In a city famous for its sunshine, they built a massive retail hub in the dark.
It has evolved.
It’s no longer just a place for office workers to grab a dry sandwich. Now, you’ve got high-end gyms, upscale dining like Drago Centro, and quick-service spots that actually taste good. It’s a literal city under the city. If you’re visiting, don’t just look up at the towers; take the escalator down. It’s a weirdly cool, climate-controlled escape from the humid LA heat.
Survival in Earthquake Country
How do they stay up?
LA is earthquake territory. We all know the "Big One" is coming eventually. The twin towers in LA were built with this in mind, using a ductile steel frame. Basically, the buildings are designed to bend, not break. During the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was a 6.7 magnitude, these towers swayed. They groaned. But they stood perfectly fine.
Engineering in the 70s was surprisingly robust. They didn't have the computer modeling we have now, so they over-engineered everything. They built them like tanks.
Why the Twin Towers in LA Still Matter in 2026
We have taller buildings now. The Wilshire Grand Center, with its pointy spire and LED displays, is the new king of the skyline. The U.S. Bank Tower (the one the aliens blew up in Independence Day) is more famous globally.
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So why care about the twins?
Because they represent the "Old Guard" of the New LA. They were the first major step toward making Downtown a dense urban core. They paved the way for the residential boom we’re seeing now. Without the ARCO towers proving that big business could thrive on S. Flower Street, we wouldn’t have the luxury lofts or the rooftop bars that define DTLA today.
They are also a filmmaker’s dream.
Look closely at movies like Heat or The Dark Knight Rises. Directors love these buildings because they look "corporate" in a way that is timeless. They don't look like they belong to any specific decade anymore; they just look like Power.
A Quick Reality Check on Visiting
If you're planning to head down there, keep a few things in mind:
- Parking is a nightmare. Seriously. Don't even try to park in the building’s garage unless you want to pay $40 for an hour. Use a ride-share or take the Metro to 7th Street/Metro Center. It’s a short walk from there.
- The views from the top aren't public. This isn't the Empire State Building. You can't just buy a ticket to an observation deck. These are working office buildings. However, if you can snag a reservation at a restaurant or have a meeting in the building, the view of the San Gabriel Mountains is legendary.
- The Plaza is public. You can hang out by the red sculpture, eat your lunch, and watch the lawyers rush by. It’s great people-watching.
Actionable Insights for Your Visit
Don't just stare at the towers from a car window on the 110 freeway. To actually experience the twin towers in LA, you need a plan.
- Timing is everything. Visit around 4:00 PM. The way the sun hits the dark granite makes the buildings look like they are glowing from the inside. It’s the "golden hour" for a reason.
- Eat at Drago Centro. It’s located right in the plaza. It’s sophisticated Italian food and gives you a great vantage point of the architecture without feeling like a tourist.
- Check out the Public Library nearby. The LA Central Library is just a block away. The contrast between the ancient-looking, Egyptian-inspired library and the ultra-modern twin towers is one of the best architectural juxtapositions in the country.
- Look for the "Double Ascension" sculpture. It’s the red "stairway to nowhere." It’s the perfect foreground for a photo that captures the scale of the towers behind it.
The Twin Towers of Los Angeles might not be the tallest anymore, but they are the soul of the Financial District. They are steady. They are dark. They are iconic. In a city that is constantly tearing things down to build something shinier, there's something respectable about two giants that just refuse to go out of style.
Next time you’re in DTLA, stand in the center of the plaza and look straight up. The way the two towers seem to lean toward each other against the blue sky is a dizzying, beautiful reminder of what LA wanted to be when it finally grew up.