Continental Building, Beaux-Arts skyscraper in Spring Street Financial District, United States.

The Continental Building is a 13-story, 151 ft (46 m) high-rise on Spring Street in the Historic Core of Los Angeles. Its pale beige facade rises through roughly three visible floors of arched and rectangular windows set between carved pilasters with decorative capitals and shields. A projecting cornice on brackets tops an ornate frieze, and a horizontal band with a repeating motif divides the upper and lower window sections.

Completed in 1903 as the Braly Block, the Continental Building was Los Angeles's first high-rise and, at 151 ft (46 m) across 13 stories, its tallest commercial building for 53 years. It was named for John Hyde Braly, president of the firm credited with commissioning it; he had moved to Los Angeles in 1891. Soon after completion the City Council imposed a 150 ft height limit on future buildings, which held until the 1950s.

The building represents how Downtown Los Angeles functioned as an early financial hub where banks and businesses created a thriving commercial district. Its ornate architectural details reflect an era when such structures expressed prosperity and progress.

The building sits on South Spring Street in an area with several historic structures within walking distance. Today it houses residential lofts with modern amenities, allowing for observation from street level.

The height limit that followed the Continental Building's completion in 1903 was set at 150 ft (46 m), the same height as the tower itself, and stayed in force until the 1950s. The building kept the title of tallest commercial structure in the city for 53 years. It later appeared in the 2009 film (500) Days of Summer.