Three Skyscrapers Competing to Become Tallest Tower West of the Mississippi

Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco are all building skyscrapers, but which will become the tallest tower west of the Mississippi River?

Jun 23, 2016

AC Martin’s design for the Wilshire Grand Tower calls for a 1,099-foot-tall spire.

The current tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River is Los Angele's 1,018-foot-tall U.S. Bank Tower, but developers in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle are all seeking to build a tower that will overtake the title.

The proposed 1,111-foot-tall, mixed-used 4/C Tower in Seattle has reduced its planned height several times due to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report citing possible interference with medical helicopter flight paths and navigable air space for the nearby King County International Airport. The FAA has mandated a 965-foot maximum height for the tower, the most recent plans call for a 100-story, 1,029-foot-tall structure.

Currently under construction in San Francisco, the 1,070-foot-tall Salesforce Tower will contain 1.4 million square feet of office space topped by a 100-foot-tall crown and rise 217 feet above San Francisco's current tallest building upon its completion in 2018.

In Los Angele's the 1,099-foot-tall Wilshire Grand Tower topped out this last March and is near completion. This skyscraper is only the second tower above 40 floors built in downtown Los Angeles since 1992. When completed in 2017, the Wilshire Grand Tower should capture the title of tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi River.

(more on the three giant towers being built in the West...)