A handful of the top floors at Downtown LA's US Bank Tower are undergoing a $50-million renovation that will leave the West Coast's tallest tower (for now) with a new, two-floor observation deck with 360-degree views, but apparently that isn't exciting enough. 
 
 Bank Tower owners OUE Limited announced today a new addition to the Skyspace observation deck tourist attraction that's guaranteed to give it that "thrill factor": a 36-foot long glass slide that will allow brave souls to slide from the 70th floor to the 69th along the outside of the building. 
 
 Called the Skyslide, the chute will be made of clear glass four inches thick, sit about 1,000 feet above the ground, and totally one-up other observation decks that just have that scary all-glass platform that creates the illusion of standing on air (like the one at Chicago's Willis Tower). 
 
 A rendering shows a totally calm person casually moving through the slide with arms overhead like this is merely Splash Mountain and not an $8 near-death experience. ($8 Skyslide passes will be sold separately from the $25 Skyspace ticket.) UPDATE 3/2: Gensler designed the Skyspace observation deck and associated areas (lobby, elevator transfer floor), but not the Skyslide, which was designed by M.Ludvik & Co. 
 
 When complete, Skyspace will have a lobby on the second floor of the US Bank Tower, and occupy various spaces on the 54th, 69th, and 70th floors of the building. (The 71st floor floor will hold a brand new restaurant and the 72nd floor will remain office space.) Previous reports on the US Bank Tower's Skyspace project anticipated a mid-2016 opening, so there are still a few months to muster the courage to ride this thing. ||||| In this Wednesday, June 22, 2016 photo "Skyslide" juts out from the side of the U.S. Bank Tower building in downtown Los Angeles. Starting this weekend, thrill-seekers can begin taking the ride that is... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Wednesday, June 22, 2016 photo "Skyslide" juts out from the side of the U.S. Bank Tower building in downtown Los Angeles. Starting this weekend, thrill-seekers can begin taking the ride that is about 1,000 feet high and perched on the outside of the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi,... (Associated Press) 
 
 LOS ANGELES (AP) — I've jumped out of a plane from 13,000 feet. I've ridden 400-foot-tall roller coasters that top speeds of 100 mph, and I once found myself using my fingernails to clutch the side of a rock face way too steep to climb without gear. 
 
 Heights have never fazed me. Until the Skyslide, a terrifying glass tube on the outside of the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. It's open to the public Saturday, and journalists were given an early chance to try it out. 
 
 Perched 1,000 feet above the ground on the side of the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi, the 360-degree glass slide is utterly terrifying. It's is nearly a straight shot down, except for a small turn at the beginning that causes riders to bump against the side of the glass, much to their horror. 
 
 I tried not to pay attention to the screams from other people riding the slide as I waited in what seemed like an interminable line. I tried not to think about the fact that just 1¼ inches separated me from a 1,000-foot drop. 
 
 My heart thumped as I approached the top of the slide. I could see the streets below me and the infinite city straight ahead. 
 
 As I hooked each foot into a little mat that helps riders pick up speed and avoid skidding on the glass, I felt my hands trembling. And when I scooched slowly toward the point of no return, I thought strongly about turning around. 
 
 I forged on, unable to contain a terrified squeal as I flew down. "Oh my God, Richard!" I yelled to my friend, an AP photographer at the bottom of the slide. 
 
 All I wanted was to see him again. 
 
 I shot out of the bottom and am proud to say I stuck the landing. Others have tumbled nearly head over heels. 
 
 Was it one of the scariest things I've ever done? Absolutely. 
 
 Would I do it again? I just did. 
 
 ___ 
 
 The Skyslide opens to the public for the first time on Saturday. It spans 45 feet from the 70th to the 69th floor of the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles. 
 
 The slide is part of a $50 million renovation that includes an open-air observation desk and a bar. 
 
 Tickets to reach the deck are $25. It costs $8 more to ride the slide. ||||| For all the daredevils out there, there's a new thrill perched 1,000 feet above downtown Los Angeles: A 45-foot-long glass slide that propels you down from the 70th to the 69th floor of the U.S. Bank Tower. 
 
 The Skyslide opened on Saturday, and offers unparalleled views of the entire city. It's not for the faint of heart — the only things separating sliders from plummeting down to the concrete jungle below are pieces of glass just one-and one-quarter inch thick. ||||| The glass “Skyslide” nearly 1,000 feet above downtown Los Angeles attached to the west’s tallest skyscraper hasn’t been open yet for a month, but it’s already the target of a personal injury lawsuit over a broken ankle. 
 
 The managers and operators of the 72-story U.S. Bank Tower slide have been sued by a woman who says she broke her right ankle after coming down the glass-enclosed attraction on the side of the tallest building on the West Coast. 
 
 Gayle Yashar, 57, alleges negligence in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against OUE Skyspace LLC and Legends Hospitality LLC. 
 
 Her husband, Morty Yashar, is a co-plaintiff, claiming loss of consortium. The Yashars, of Woodmere, N.Y., are seeking unspecified damages. 
 
 A representative for the building’s owners did not immediately reply to a request for comment. 
 
 According to the complaint, Gayle Yashar was injured July 3, eight days after the slide opened. The suit alleges the slide was designed in a way that those who use it cannot slow down enough before reaching the end. 
 
 The complaint filed Wednesday also alleges that there are stacked mats at the end of the slide runout area. 
 
 “This created a gap that trapped the covered feet of riders,” the suit says. “This increased the risk of serious injury for an ankle fracture which was far beyond the risk assumed by the uninformed and unsuspecting riders.” 
 
 The owners also failed to warn riders of the risks involved in coming down the slide, the suit alleges. 
 
 The Yashars’ attorney, Barry Novack, said the audio portion of a video taken of Gayle Yashar’s run includes the sound of a crack as she reaches the bottom. She realized she hurt her ankle after she tumbled and then got up, Novack said. 
 
 –Staff and wire reports 
 
 
 
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– If you're afraid of heights, stop reading. As of June 25, the city of Los Angeles will boast a most unique attraction: a glass slide that hangs 1,000 feet above it, attached to the side of what has been the West Coast's tallest building since 1990. The US Bank Tower is about to lose that honor to the Wilshire Grand, notes Gizmodo, but it's not planning to lose its place in the spotlight. The US Bank Tower clocks in at 72 stories, and the building's owner intends to install the opening of a 46-foot-long glass slide on the 70th floor. It's the brainchild of Singapore-based OUE Ltd., which bought the building three years ago and is sinking $50 million into a rehab of it. You can pay $25 to enter the new rooftop complex—OUE Skyspace LA will also contain a bar and observation deck—and then another $8 to scoot your way down to the 69th floor, reports the Los Angeles Times. The slide will be 4 feet wide and made of 1.25-inch-thick glass. Curbed Los Angeles notes that one rendering of the Skyslide "shows a totally calm person casually moving through the slide with arms overhead like this is merely Splash Mountain and not an $8 near-death experience." CNN notes it joins a number of similarly see-through attractions in the US, such as the ones at the Willis Tower and Grand Canyon. But is Skyslide scarier than this glass tourist attraction?