On Saturday evening, crews poured the first layer of concrete for the 73-story hotel and office tower at the former site of the Wilshire Grand Hotel.
Crews are aiming to set a Guinness World Record by continuously pouring about 21K cubic yards of concrete for almost 20 hours.
The concrete, weighing about 82 million pounds, is expected to be delivered to the site by 28 trucks making 2,120 trips.
While the record-setting foundation is being poured, about 100 people working on the project will use an app which will connect them to each other in an attempt to make logistical decisions together.
Wilshire Grand Center will be the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it's completed in the year 2017.
The old hotel was demolished in October of 2012 in order to make way for the new hotel that will stand about 1,100 feet tall when it's completed.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti encouraged Angelenos to name this endeavour as transportation officials have taken to naming freeway projects. "Pourzilla" was trending online Saturday as crews began pouring concrete. "Porque" and "Pour Me Another" were also trending as names.
The project has created more than 11,000 construction jobs and will generate an estimated $80 million in tax revenue for the city and county during the construction phase alone.
"In L.A., I think people are enthused about downtown," said Garcetti. "They're excited about this building, it'll be the tallest west of the Mississippi, and that means jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs."
Parts of Figueroa Street, Seventh Street, Wilshire Boulevard and Francisco Street will be closed in downtown LA from noon Saturday to 10 pm Sunday. Spectators were invited to watch the pour from the sidewalk at Figueroa Street and Washington Boulevard.
If the pour is completed, the feat could break a previous record set by the foundation pour for the Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas.
CNS contributed to this report.
