A VIEW FROM THE TOP : In downtown Los Angeles, executives like a perch that matches their title.
Very, very early, on a few special mornings, James Miscoll quietly climbs a restricted staircase from his 51st-floor office at the Bank of America Tower. There he stands, relishing his priceless, private view of Los Angeles.
“It’s no place for acrophobes,” laughs Miscoll, who is the bank’s top-ranking executive in Southern California.
As the Los Angeles skyline reaches new heights, more and more companies eager for quarters that reflect their lofty status are willing to pay up to $50 a square foot--a third or more above the going rate for more earthbound office space.
What that money buys is a front-row seat for the aerial acrobatics of the peregrine falcons that dive at speeds of up to 200 m.p.h. between their roost on top of the Union Bank Building and the street.
It buys a hushed world of security guards, polished parquet floors, Oriental rugs, fresh flowers and original artwork--a world where directors convene at vast, gleaming tables behind heavy, paneled doors.
And, best of all, executives say, it buys a view that extends all the way to Catalina Island--at least on clear days.
Being above it all, however, is not without its drawbacks. It can mean coping with clients distracted by helicopters swooping in between the downtown skyscrapers to deliver and fetch VIPs. And some office workers hate the heights for reasons ranging from fear of earthquakes to traffic on the elevators, which can easily devour a half-hour lunch break.
Some executives look for offices on top floors because it is expected of them.
“People expect the top person to have the top office,” said Joseph J. Pinola, chairman and chief executive of First Interstate Bancorp. “It’s protocol.”
“Skyscrapers reflect the ultimate militaristic instinct--that it is important to build your victorious camp on top of the hill,” said John Eichler, a real estate broker for Cushman & Wakefield of California who specializes in leasing premium downtown office space.
“In the office world, being up high is an extension of men wanting to be big and strong and over 6 feet tall.”
Bank of America’s Miscoll, who has lived and worked in skyscrapers in New York, San Francisco and Tokyo, said having a top-floor office is a compliment to a firm’s clients.
“People like to know they are doing business with a company that has the proper image and credibility,” Miscoll said. “But, being in this office does not make me a good banker--I was a good banker before I sat up here.”
Pinola’s 59th-floor office is the tallest in downtown Los Angeles. But Pinola, who works in shirt-sleeves with his back at the window, said he doesn’t spend much time admiring his panoramic view.
“If you have time to look out the window, the company should get someone else to do the job,” he said with a smile. Pinola is destined for even greater heights when he moves to the 72nd floor of the First Interstate World Center being built by Maguire-Thomas Partners.
“To have our name on a landmark building is a real coup,” Pinola said. “It’s a fabulous building and the speed at which it has risen is incredible.”
While Pinola’s view from 800 feet above downtown is splendid on a smog-free day, First Interstate’s board members and clients who meet and dine on the 60th floor have an even more spectacular view. Several private dining rooms, filled with fresh flowers and fine china, afford First Interstate’s guests a comfortable place to eat after they have admired the view.
The top floors of the city’s tallest buildings are leased or owned by the biggest and most powerful banks, law firms and financial institutions.
Top executives of Bank of America, Arco, Security Pacific, First Interstate, Bankers Trust, Union Bank, Wells Fargo and Paine Webber can be found on top. Sanwa Bank is scheduled to occupy the top floors of a building under construction at Figueroa and Wilshire.
Exclusive Club
Although top-floor office space is at a premium, the 48th floor of the Wells Fargo Bank Building is available, according to downtown leasing agents.
The latest entry to the world on top is the new City Club of Bunker Hill. The 600 or so members of the club will pay initial membership fees of $4,000 to $5,000, plus yearly dues for the privilege of sharing their panoramic quarters on the 54th floor of the Wells Fargo Center’s North Tower with clients and guests.
The exclusive club plans to open its doors this month on the same floor where financier Leonard Green and his colleagues work behind locked glass doors.
Being on top has been synonymous with executive power since 1885, when the top brass of Home Insurance Co. moved into a soaring 10-story headquarters building in Chicago. Architectural historians note that the Home Insurance Building was one of the first to be built after the Otis Elevator Co. proved that its new contraption provided a safe, swift way to travel. Today, express elevators rocket to the top of downtown’s skyscrapers at ear-popping speeds of about 20 m.p.h.
While most top-floor office space leases for $30 to $35 a square foot annually, including insurance and taxes, informed real estate sources said First Interstate will pay close to $50 a square foot for the two 9,000-square-foot top floors of the new tower.
Andy Fishburn, the leasing manager responsible for Maguire- Thomas Partner’s First Interstate World Center, declined to comment on the $50 figure. Fishburn said the new building, which stands more than 1,000 feet high, will be the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
He said having the right to place a corporate logo on top of a skyscraper provides the “ultimate identity for a company.”
Executive Unimpressed
“It is their strongest form of advertising and it creates tremendous prestige for clients visiting the building,” Fishburn said. “It’s also exciting--it’s a statement of technology.”
But, at least one top-floor executive downplays the significance of his personal aerie. “For some, being on top is an ego trip, but not for me,” said Fred L. Leydorf, managing partner of the law firm of Hufstedler, Miller Kaus & Beardsley.
Leydorf said he enjoys the view from the 45th floor of the Wells Fargo Center’s South Tower most while smoking a cigar at the end of a busy day. Leydorf, who has spent his entire professional life as a downtown lawyer, said he can see “every building and trace my career from here.”
As it nears completion, the First Interstate World Center blocks a major portion of Leydorf’s view. But, he said he has enjoyed watching it rise, marveling at the construction crews. During the early stages of work, when workers balanced on the steel girders above the city, Leydorf said conversations with visiting clients would stop in mid-sentence.
Most clients still take a moment to enjoy the view before launching into the business at hand.
“I’ve only had one client who wouldn’t come up here,” said Leydorf. “She was an elderly woman who never went above the third floor.”
He said no one has ever refused a job at Hufstedler Miller since they moved to their new top-floor offices nearly two years ago. But employees recently asked for and received some earthquake preparedness training. The firm also brought in emergency supplies of food and water.
Although executives and clients enjoy their splendiferous surroundings, some secretaries and other support staff are not as thrilled.
“I put my life in my hands every time I come up here,” lamented one executive secretary, who asked not to be identified.
Fears Increased
“During rush hour it can take 7 to 10 minutes from the time I leave my car in the garage to the time I get into the office,” she said. “Every minute seems like an eternity when you are late. Sometimes you are ready to tear your hair out.”
She and several other non-executives said their fear of being trapped in a tall building increased after last year’s First Interstate fire.
“I feel totally helpless up here,” said another secretary who rarely leaves her desk at lunchtime because it takes too long to get in and out of the building. “You feel sort of like a captive.”
Los Angeles’ towering, elegant skyline is a very recent phenomenon. Only four decades ago, the city’s profile was dominated by the 28-story City Hall tower in Civic Center. Until the 1950s, City Hall was the only building permitted to violate the city’s defunct 150-foot height limit.
Downtown’s first real skyscrapers--those of 40 stories or more--broke ground in the early 1970s, when Arco and Bank of America teamed up to build the twin towers on Flower Street. Both companies reserved the top floor for their highest executives.
Soon after, First Interstate joined forces with Equitable Life Insurance to build its 62-story tower on Wilshire Boulevard. The building, which is undergoing renovations required after a May 4, 1988, fire, will probably be put up for sale in the near future, Pinola said.
The following are the tallest buildings in downtown Los Angeles. Three that are listed but are not pictured are under construction. The photograph was taken in April.
1. First Interstate World Center 73 FLOORS 633 W. 5th St. Under construction Joseph J. Pinola, chairman and chief executive of First Interstate Bancorp, is scheduled to occupy the 72nd floor.
2. First Interstate Bank Tower 62 FLOORS 707 Wilshire Blvd. The offices of Pinola and top executives are on the 59th floor; executive dining room and board room are on the 60th floor.
3. Security Pacific Plaza 55 FLOORS 333 S. Hope St. Richard Flamson, chairman and chief executive, and other executives are on the 54th floor, the top office floor.
4. Wells Fargo Center, North Tower 54 FLOORS 333 S. Grand Leonard Green, financier, and the City Club of Bunker Hill are on the 54th floor.
5. 777 Tower at Citicorp Plaza 53 FLOORS 777 S. Figueroa St. Under construction (not pictured) Top floors available
6. Arco Plaza North Tower 52 FLOORS 515 S. Flower St. Lodwrick M. Cook, Arco chairman and chief executive, and other executives are on the 51st floor, the top office floor.
7. Arco Plaza South Tower (Bank of America Tower) 52 FLOORS 525 S. Flower St. Bank of America executive offices and James Miscoll, executive vice president, are on the 51st floor, the top office floor.
8. Figueroa at Wilshire Tower 52 FLOORS Under construction (not pictured) Sanwa Bank of California is scheduled to occupy the top floors.
9. Southern California Gas Center 51 FLOORS 5th Street at Grand Avenue Under construction (not pictured) Top floors unleased
10. Wells Fargo Bank Building 48 FLOORS 444 S. Flower St. Top floor unleased
11. Wells Fargo Center, South Tower 45 FLOORS 344 S. Grand Ave. Hufstedler Miller, Kaus & Beardsley occupies floors 43, 44 and 45.
12. California Plaza 42 FLOORS 300 S. Grand Ave. Bankers Trust Co. is on the 41st floor.
13. AT&T; Center 42 FLOORS 611 W. Sixth St. The 40th floor, the top office floor, is vacant.
Compiled from downtown real estate listings
