(14 Jul 2016) LEAD IN:
A scream-tastic glass slide, 1,000 feet above downtown Los Angeles, is giving US daredevils a welcome adrenaline rush.
Attached to the tallest US skyscraper west of Mississippi, Skyslide is also helping LA's tourist board reach its ambitious visitor targets for 2020.
STORY-LINE:
If you're afraid of heights, this may be one short journey you'd rather avoid.
Perched 1,000 feet above downtown L.A., these brave thrill seekers are sampling the latest addition to the city's visitor attractions.
Skyslide, a terrifying 45 feet-long glass tube on the side of the U.S. Bank Tower, opened to the public on 25 June, and organisers say queues haven't stopped.
Over 5,000 tickets were sold for the grand opening.
"When you're looking at it from down here you kind of don't think about it much," says German Benavides from LA Galaxy Soccer Team's marketing department.
"But when you start going up it's kind of like; 'Oh, okay, it's getting real, we're getting closer, okay, he went, he went, now it's my turn.' When I was sitting down I really felt my heart beating really fast so it felt like a rush.
"As I was going down, I enjoyed it halfway, because halfway, I don't know if I was sitting wrong, but I kind of bumped myself into the glass thing, but I like the mix of being scared and excited at the same time, so it was a very bipolar rush if you I want to call it that."
Skyslide winds its way from the U.S. Bank Tower's 70th floor down to the 69th. It's the tallest U.S. skyscraper west of the Mississippi.
The building was purchased by Singapore-based real estate owner, OUE Limited in 2013.
OUE says it has not yet tallied full attendance numbers, but says the slide has been a resounding success.
Singer and video website host, DaniElle DeLaite is enjoying it so much she wants to go again and again.
"The view is incredible for one, just being up here," says the 25-year-old.
"I think it's the tallest building west of the Mississippi they were saying upstairs, so just to be up here is quite incredible and then to be able to do the slide where you go outside of the building, it's unlike anything I've tried before, so I want to get up there and do it again."
For those worried about safety, OUE Limited says the slide is made of 1.25 inch thick chemically reinforced glass and can withstand winds up to 110 miles per hour.
To be installed, the slide had to be airlifted to the 69th floor, an intricate pulley had to inch it in place.
Testing took months, including loading sandbags to determine how much weight the slide could carry.
John Gambo from OUE Limited claims it's an engineering and technical feat.
"The slide itself, all of it put together, is 45 feet and it connects the 70th floor to the 69th floor," he says.
"You essentially enter the slide from inside the 70th floor and it shoots you down to the open-air terrace on the 69th.
"It's approximately 10,000 pounds all put together when you add up the steel outriggers, the fittings and all the glass.
"It's been designed with a software that was initially developed by NASA. The glass for the slide is three-ply. In total, it's about an inch and a quarter thick and it's been chemically reinforced by a substance again that's has been used in aerospace."
Skyslide is part of an interactive, audio visual experience called OUE Skyspace, which also includes an open-air observation deck, bar and various interactive displays.
They've all been created as part of a $50 million USD renovation project.
Lucy Rumantir, president and CEO of OUE Limited, says the new slide is playing its part in attracting new tourists to the 'City of Angels'.
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