Los Angeles skyscraper slide will not reopen

FILE - In this June 23, 2016, file photo, a member of the media rides down a glass slide during a media preview at the U.S. Bank Tower building in downtown Los Angeles. A renovation will do away with the Skyslide, located nearly a 1,000 feet high that gave thrill-seekers a brief ride on the outside of a downtown Los Angeles skyscraper. The new owner of the U.S. Bank Tower will remove the Skyslide and Skyspace public observation deck, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday, May 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

(AP) - A renovation will do away with a slide that gave thrill-seekers a brief ride on the outside of a skyscraper in central Los Angeles.

The new owner of the US Bank Tower will remove the Skyslide and Skyspace public observation deck, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The slide and deck opened in 2016 with the idea of making the tower a tourist attraction.

Located nearly 1,000ft (304.8 metres) above the ground, the Skyslide is a see-through enclosure 45ft long (13.7 metres) and made of 1.25in thick (3.18 centimetre) glass.

FILE - In this June 23, 2016, file photo, a member of the media prepares to take a ride down a glass slide during a media preview day at the U.S. Bank Tower building in downtown Los Angeles. A renovation will do away with the Skyslide, located nearly 1,000 feet high, that gave thrill-seekers a brief ride on the outside of a downtown Los Angeles skyscraper. The new owner of the U.S. Bank Tower will remove the Skyslide and Skyspace public observation deck, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday, May 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

Visitors could slide from the 70th floor down to the 69th floor.

Developer Silverstein Properties bought the US Bank Tower last year for 430 million US dollars (£303 million) and plans to spend 60 million dollars (£42 million) on upgrades to make it more appealing to businesses in creative fields, the Times reported.

Skyspace closed before the pandemic and will not reopen, said Jeremy Moss, head of leasing.

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“While there are examples of observation decks and tourist attractions co-existing with workspace, in this particular case I think that it was having too much of a negative impact on the experience that we wanted to create and preserve for the companies that are here,” he said.

Skyspace floors will be turned back into office space.

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