The Apex Building in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.FLY R.I./YouTubeArchitecture is a form of art. When a city constructs a new building, it should add beauty to its streetscape.
But that doesn’t always happen. Every town across the United States likely has a tower, a government complex, or an office building that residents wish never went up.
Business Insider asked readers to name the one architectural eyesore they loathe in their state. Responses ranged from a building that looks like a giant wooden basket to a hotel painted solid gold.
The most unpopular buildings — two that were named by nearly a dozen readers — were Boston’s City Hall, a concrete structure that one person described as “depressing,” and Manhattan’s 432 Park Avenue, a skyscraper that another reader said resembles “a very tall trashcan.”
Here are the ugliest buildings in every US state, plus Washington, DC:
Alabama — The Government Plaza in Mobile
Alaska — The Westmark Hotel in Anchorage
The Westmark Hotel.Alaska.com
Arizona — The City Hall of Tempe
Dishonorable mentions: The Century Link Tower and BMO Tower in Phoenix
Arkansas — The John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building in Fayetteville
California — A KFC in Los Angeles
One reader who lives three blocks away said, “It’s ugly, but it gives our neighborhood flavor.”
Dishonorable mentions: The 8500 Melrose mini-mall in LA; the Ziggurat in Sacramento; the Naval Base in Coronado; Pinnacle Park in San Diego
Colorado — The Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport.Fly Denver
Dishonorable mention: The Beauvallon Condos in Denver and the Denver Art Museum
Connecticut — The Pirelli Building in New Haven
Dishonorable mentions: The Lazrus House at Connecticut College in New London; the Bridgeport Center in Bridgeport
Delaware — The Rollins Building Heliport in Wilmington
District of Columbia — The Watergate complex
One reader called the complex “Washington, DC’s white whale.”
Dishonorable mention: The Georgetown University Library
Florida — The Majesty Building in Altamonte Springs
Locals call the Majesty Building the “I-4 eyesore.”
Dishonorable mentions: The Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee; the Wells Fargo Center in Jacksonville
Georgia — The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium.Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Hawaii — The Grand Waikikian Hotel in Honolulu
The Grand Waikikian Hotel.Amoma
Idaho — The Zions Bank Building in Boise
Illinois — The Thompson Center in Chicago
The building is “a point of contention for many Chicagoans,” a reader said.
Dishonorable mentions: The Northwestern University Library in Evanston; the Marina Towers in Chicago
Indiana — The Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend
The Hesburgh Library.Hesburgh Library
Iowa — The English-Philosophy Building at the University of Iowa in Iowa City
English-Philosophy Building.The University of Iowa
Dishonorable mention: The Boyd Law Building at the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City
Kansas — An old warehouse on 101 North Kansas Avenue in Topeka
101 North Kansas Avenue.Google Street View/Screenshot
Kentucky — The Kaden Tower in suburban Louisville
The Kaden Tower.Mapio.net
Frank Lloyd Wright’s protégé and son-in-law William Wesley Peters “gifted this monstrosity to Louisville,” one reader said.
Dishonorable mention: The Mercer Tower in Louisville
Louisiana — The Health Sciences Center at Louisiana State University in Shreveport
The Health Sciences Center.LSU
Maine — The School of Law Building at the University of Maine in Portland
The School of Law Building.The University of Maine
It looks like a “deconstructed water tower. It literally even has the rusty ladder,” said a reader.
Maryland — The US Census Bureau in Suitland
The US Census Bureau.HKS Architects
“The way CENSUS is written on it is VERY menacing. [There is] very bad energy coming from it,” according to one reader.
Massachusetts — Boston City Hall
“Do you think they purposefully tried to match the colors from the background-left buildings and the middleground? That’s my only explanation for that color combination,” said one reader. “Barf.”
Dishonorable mentions: Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge; the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield
Michigan — The MotorCity Casino and Hotel in Detroit
The MotorCity Casino and Hotel.World Architecture Communtiy
Dishonorable mentions: The Ypsilanti Water Tower in Ypsilanti; a warehouse on 909 Sheldon Road in Plymouth; the Cobo Center in Detroit
Minnesota — The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis
“This one causes disorientation,” said a reader.
Dishonorable mentions: The US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis; the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis
Mississippi — The Gold Strike Casino Resort in Robinsonville
The Gold Strike Casino Resort.The Gold Strike Casino Resort
Missouri — The St. Louis Compton Hill Water Tower
Montana — The First Interstate Center in Missoula
The First Interstate Center.CTA Group
Nebraska — The Mutual of Omaha Building
Nevada — The Neonopolis in Las Vegas
The Neonopolis.Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Weekly
Dishonorable mention: The Veer Towers in Las Vegas
New Jersey — The American Dream Meadowlands Mall in East Rutherford
The American Dream Meadowlands Mall.NJ.com
“I want to be at The American Dream’s funeral,” a reader said.
Dishonorable mention: The Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station in Secaucus
New Mexico — The New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe
New York — A tie between 432 Park Avenue, Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden in New York City
Madison Square Garden/Penn Station (top) and 432 Park Avenue (bottom) in NYCWikipedia Commons(user Jdh87)/432 Park Avenue
One reader called Penn Station and Madison Square Garden “the armpits of New York City.” “Penn Station is ugly on a transcendent level,” said another.
“I’m from a close suburb in New Jersey where we’ve always had beautiful skyline views. 432 Park ruined them completely,” a reader said. Another said, “That building is my sworn enemy.”
Dishonorable mentions: the Buffalo City Courthouse; the Central Warehouse in Albany; the Stony Brook Hospital at Stony Brook University; Haven Hall at Syracuse University in Syracuse; Bradfield Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca
North Carolina — The Biltmore Building in Asheville
The Biltmore Building.Rockhounding Around
North Dakota — The North Dakota State Capitol Building in Bismarck
“The North Dakota State Capital Building in Bismarck is the least inspired building in America,” a reader said.
Ohio — The Longaberger headquarters in Newark
“It is abysmal,” according to a reader.
Dishonorable mentions: The Peter B. Lewis Building at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland; Caples Hall at Kenyon College in Gambier
Oklahoma — The Weokie Credit Union in Oklahoma City
The Weokie Credit Union.Google Street View/Screenshot
Oregon — The Portland Building in Portland
“Every Portlander’s favorite example of a building to hate: The Portland Building,” said one reader.
Dishonorable mention: The Prince Lucien Campbell Hall at the University of Oregon in Eugene
Pennsylvania — The Aramark Tower in Philadelphia
Dishonorable mentions: The GSB Building in Bala Cynwyd; Wesley W. Posvar Hall at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh
Rhode Island — The Apex Building in Pawtucket
South Carolina — Holiday Inn Charleston-Riverview in Charleston
Holiday Inn Charleston-Riverview.Holiday Inn
South Dakota — The Qwest Tower in Sioux Falls
Tennessee — The AT&T Building in Nashville
Texas — The Alamodome in San Antonio
The Alamodome.My San Antonio
According to one reader, “There are so many reasons the Alamodome, in my hometown of San Antonio, is awful … But most of all, it is deeply, inscrutably ugly, with four gigantic pillars hoisting up the domed roof and making the thing look like a dead armadillo.”
Dishonorable mention: The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio
Utah — The Athletic Strength and Conditioning Center at Utah State University
The Athletic Strength and Conditioning Center.AJC Architects
Vermont — Decker Towers in Burlington
Decker Towers.Burlington Housing
Virginia — The Tycon office building in Vienna
Locals call it “the toilet bowl building,” a reader said.
Washington — The Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle
“This looks like the final project of a freshman architecture student,” according to one reader.
West Virginia — The Bank of Mullens Building in Mullens
The Bank of Mullens Building.Google Street View/Screenshot
Wisconsin — Van Vleck Hall at UW-Madison in Madison
Van Vleck Hall at UW-Madison.UW-Madison
Dishonorable mention: The Humanities Building at UW-Madison in Madison
Wyoming — The Dick Cheney Federal Building in Casper
The Dick Cheney Federal Building.Wikipedia Commons
