U.S. Bank Tower, known locally as the Library Tower and formerly as the First Interstate Bank World Center, is a 1,018-foot (310.3 m) skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles, California. It is, by structural height, the third-tallest building in California, the second-tallest building in Los Angeles, the 24th-tallest in the United States, the third-tallest west of the Mississippi River after the Salesforce Tower and the Wilshire Grand Center, and the 129th-tallest building in the world, after being surpassed by the Wilshire Grand Center. It is the only building in California whose roof height exceeds 1,000 feet (300 m).[1] Built to survive a 7.5 earthquake on the Richter Scale, how long can the tower last without maintenance or occupation?
Coverage[]
The U.S. Bank Tower is featured in The Capital Threat starting in 1 week after people.
The show introduce the U.S. Bank Tower, stating to be the tallest building west of the Mississippi, designed to be occupied for more than 100 years and built to survive the "big one", an earthquake measuring at least 7.5 on the Richter scale. But it is now no longer occupied, and through the later episodes, it goes dark, such as a brief scene in Last Supper (also in 1 week segment).
In 10 years after people, without humans to fight California's wildfires, a lightning strike sets off the hills and advance towards Los Angeles. The U.S. Bank Tower burns from the inside out but the structure steel frame withstands the searing heat and can endure temperatures of over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit without degradation. While the steel frame survives, the interior spaces burn quickly turning the tallest building into a charred skeleton.
In 50 years after people, the Big One, an earthquake measuring 8.0, strikes Los Angeles. while the U.S. Bank Tower is a charred teetering steel skeleton, the top 21 floors have earthquake-damping struts installed between floors but after wildfire damage and years without maintenance, they slough off and fall from the building causing parts of the walls to collapse and slip, including the crown. Steven S. Ross stated that if you think about a bullwhip, a slight flick of the wrist create a big motion at the far end of the bullwhip and it snaps, it is the same thing with the building. He also stated that part of the top of the building just topple away because it's moving due to being tip of the bullwhip. With the earthquake causing parts of the floors of the U.S. Bank Tower to collapse, it survives the quake.
In 600 years after people, the U.S. Bank Tower is the last recognizable edifice still standing in Los Angeles, though it is heavily corrode. The steel skyscraper have survived the wildfire that charred the rest of Hollywood and much of the LA Basin, and the big one snapped off its 21 floors, with the lower 52 floors defied the odds for hundreds of years. Steven S. Ross stated that the US Bank Tower is an odd one since it has a central core that's fairly stiff concrete and a steel framing around the edges. He then stated that the concrete core would have collapsed sooner if the building was in a climate that had more freeze-thaw cycles but it doesn't happen in Los Angeles, only earthquakes can happen.
The show then revealed its fate, with a moderate quake finally brings down the weakened structure of U.S. Bank Tower.
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