You’re 1,000 feet in the air. Beneath your butt is a thin sheet of chemically strengthened glass, maybe an inch and a quarter thick. Beyond that? Nothing but the hazy sprawl of Downtown Los Angeles and a very long, very terminal drop to the pavement of West 5th Street. For a few years, the Los Angeles US Bank Tower slide—officially known as the Skyslide—was the absolute darling of Instagram. It was terrifying. It was gimmicky. It was, for a brief moment, the most talked-about architectural addition to the California skyline.
Then, it just... stopped.
If you head to the US Bank Tower today looking for that shot of adrenaline, you’re going to be disappointed. The slide is gone. Not just closed for maintenance or tucked away behind a velvet rope, but physically dismantled and hauled away. It’s a weirdly short chapter in the history of one of the tallest buildings in the United States, but the story of why it appeared, why it failed, and what actually happened on that glass chute tells you everything you need to know about the boom and bust of "experience" tourism.
The Engineering Behind the Glass
The Skyslide wasn't just a playground toy bolted onto a skyscraper. It was a massive engineering undertaking. When OUE Limited, a Singapore-based developer, bought the US Bank Tower in 2013, they realized they had a problem. The building was iconic, sure, but it was just an office tower. They needed a way to make it a destination, something to compete with the Staples Center or the Broad Museum.
They spent $31 million on "OUE Skyspace LA." The centerpiece was the Los Angeles US Bank Tower slide.
The slide itself was 45 feet long. It connected the 70th floor to the 69th floor on the exterior of the building. To build it, they used a material called Supratix glass. We aren't talking about the stuff in your kitchen windows. This glass was designed to withstand hurricane-force winds and even earthquakes, which, considering DTLA sits right near the San Andreas Fault, was a pretty good call.
I remember watching the news when they airlifted the slide into place via helicopter. It looked like a giant transparent coffin being hoisted into the clouds. It was meant to be unbreakable. In fact, the engineers claimed it could hold two blue whales without cracking.
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What It Was Actually Like to Ride
Honestly? It was over before you could even finish a scream.
You’d go through security, take a dedicated elevator up, and eventually find yourself on the 70th floor. A staff member would hand you a gray mat—basically a glorified moving blanket—to sit on. This was crucial because skin on glass has a lot of friction, and without the mat, you’d probably just jerk your way down or leave a trail of elbow skin behind.
You’d scoot to the edge, look down at the 110 freeway snaking through the city like a grey ribbon, and then... push off.
The ride lasted maybe four seconds. You didn't pick up a ton of speed, but because the glass was clear, your brain completely bypassed logic. It felt like you were sliding off the edge of the world. You’d hit a big air-inflated landing pad on the 69th-floor terrace, stumble off, and try to look cool while your heart rate settled back down to double digits.
The Lawsuits and the "Danger" Factor
It wasn't all sunshine and skyline views, though. Almost immediately, the Los Angeles US Bank Tower slide ran into legal trouble.
In 2016, a woman from New York sued the operators, claiming she broke her ankle because the landing was too abrupt. She argued that the slide was designed in a way that didn't allow riders to decelerate properly before hitting the mat at the bottom. A year later, another lawsuit popped up. People were getting "stacked" at the bottom or hitting the sides too hard.
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While the glass was structurally sound, the human element was unpredictable. People would panic, stick their arms out, or try to brake with their feet, leading to the exact injuries the mats were supposed to prevent. It started to become a bit of a liability nightmare for OUE.
The Sale That Changed Everything
So, why did it disappear?
In 2020, the world changed. Tourism evaporated. Office towers in Downtown LA became ghost towns. OUE Limited decided to cut their losses and sell the building. The buyer was Silverstein Properties, a New York-based real estate giant famously known for developing the World Trade Center site. They bought the US Bank Tower for $430 million—a significant haircut from what OUE had hoped to get.
Silverstein had a very different vision. They didn't want a "tourist trap" vibe. They wanted the US Bank Tower to be a premier, high-end office space for creative firms and tech companies. They felt the slide, while "cool," didn't exactly scream "professional corporate headquarters."
In 2021, Silverstein announced they were spending $60 million on renovations. Part of that budget was dedicated to erasing Skyspace. The observation deck, the bar, and the Los Angeles US Bank Tower slide were all on the chopping block.
By the end of 2021, the slide was gone.
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Where Can You Go Now?
If you're looking for that specific "sliding through the air" thrill in LA, you’re basically out of luck. There isn't a direct replacement. However, if it's just the height you're after, there are a few alternatives that still exist, though none are quite as gimmicky.
- InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown (Wilshire Grand Center): This is actually taller than the US Bank Tower. They have the "Spire 73" bar. It’s the highest open-air bar in the Western Hemisphere. No slide, but the wind up there will make you feel just as precarious.
- The Getty Center: If you want views without the vertigo, the Getty is the gold standard. It’s free (mostly), and you don't have to worry about breaking an ankle on a glass chute.
- Skylight Gardens: Some of the newer developments in DTLA are leaning into "green" rooftop spaces rather than thrill rides.
The era of the "building-as-a-ride" seems to be cooling off in Los Angeles, replaced by a focus on "amenities" like high-end gyms and rooftop lounges that cater to workers rather than tourists with GoPro cameras.
The Reality of Experience Tourism
The rise and fall of the Los Angeles US Bank Tower slide represents a weird moment in urban planning. For a while, every major city felt the need to have a "thing." London has the Shard, New York has the Vessel (which had its own share of issues), and LA had the glass slide.
But these attractions are expensive to maintain and even more expensive to insure. When the novelty wears off—and it always does—the locals stop going. Once the locals stop going, and the tourists stay home, these "experiences" become giant glass anchors.
The US Bank Tower is returning to its roots as a place of business. It’s a bit more boring, sure, but probably a lot more sustainable. The slide was a fun, terrifying fever dream that lasted five years. Now, it’s just a piece of trivia for people who remember the weirdness of mid-2010s DTLA.
If You’re Planning a Visit to DTLA Anyway
Since you can't ride the slide anymore, here is how you should actually spend your time in that corner of the city if you want a similar vibe:
- Check out the Grand Central Market: It’s about a ten-minute walk from the tower. Get the pupusas or the egg sandwiches. It’s more "real LA" than any skyscraper slide.
- Visit the Bradbury Building: Right across from the market. It’s the oldest commercial building in the central city and was used in Blade Runner. The ironwork is stunning, and it’s free to walk into the lobby.
- The Broad Museum: You need to book tickets in advance (they are free), but the Infinity Room will give you that same sense of "where am I?" disorientation without the physical risk of a glass slide.
- Angel’s Flight: It’s a tiny, historic funicular railway. It’s basically a slide that goes uphill and uses 100-year-old wooden cars. It costs about a dollar and is way more charming than the Skyslide ever was.
Don't bother trying to sneak into the 70th floor of the US Bank Tower. Security is tight, and the area where the slide once lived has been converted into office and lounge space that is definitely not open to the general public anymore. The "thrill" is gone, but the skyline remains.