The Best-Designed Building in Every U.S. State
In many ways, architecture is a balancing act. The best buildings retain many of the qualities within collectivism (prioritizing the group over any one person) while also maintaining a degree of individualism. This is not a simple feat, which is why we often walk past so many structures without ever taking the time to notice them. But when it does happen—when a building causes us to pause and ponder—it allows us to see ordinary objects in a completely new way. To be sure, the U.S. is a country filled with stunning architecture. And this fact is not restricted to coast, region, or state. Indeed, each state has its own claim in possessing stunningly beautiful architecture, buildings that further add to the ever-changing tapestry that is American culture. So much so, that we at AD decided to break down each state in the U.S. (including Washington, D.C.) to determine which building stands out among all the rest. At its core, architecture moves past its function as merely a building and turns into a landmark once it's made a distinct presence on a city's identity. We believe these structures do just that.
Photo: Getty Images1/51Alabama State Capitol (Montgomery)
Designed by Barachias Holt and opened in 1851, the Greek Revival–style building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It was here, a decade after its completion, that the inauguration of Jefferson Davis as president of the Confederate States of America took place.
Photo: Courtesy of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts2/51Alaska Center for the Performing Arts (Anchorage)
Ever since it opened its doors in 1988, word has been spreading about this space. Now, a few decades later, more than 200,000 visitors enter this beautifully designed performing arts center every year.
Photo: Getty Images3/51Chapel of the Holy Cross (Sedona, Arizona)
Designed by architects August K. Strotz and Richard Hein and completed in 1956, this Roman Catholic chapel was built into the red rocks surrounding Sedona, Arizona. Its design inspiration came from the outline of the Empire State Building.
Photo: Getty Images4/51Little Rock Central High School (Arkansas)
While the design of this school (which was created by American-born architect John Parks Almand) is beautiful, the structure will surely be remembered for reasons outside of its appearance. In 1957 the school was the site of forced desegregation after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional.
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Photo: Courtesy of Snøhetta/Henrik Kam5/51San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (California)
In 2016, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) went through a renovation that added new energy to the space. The renovation was conducted by Snøhetta (a commission they won in a competition that featured Adjaye Associates, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Foster + Partners). The expansion added 235,000 square feet of space to the building's interiors, while also contributing much to the city's architectural integrity with the building's exterior.
Photo: Getty Images/Arpad Benedek6/51Denver Art Museum (Colorado)
Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the Denver Art Museum shows the very best of what makes him such an exciting and sought-after architect. The building juts out, producing a cantilever that can be viewed and enjoyed from multiple perspectives.
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Photo: Michael Biondo7/51The Glass House (New Canaan, Connecticut)
Built by Philip Johnson in 1948–49, the Glass House has become emblematic of modern architecture. The home was built upon 47 acres of land, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997.
Photo: Getty Images8/51The Delaware Legislative Hall (Dover)
Designed by E. William Martin and Norman M. Isham and completed in 1933, this Colonial Revival–style state capitol building houses the chambers and offices of the Delaware General Assembly.
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Photo: Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron9/511111 Lincoln Road (Miami Beach, Florida)
Designed by the renowned Swiss-based firm Herzog & de Meuron, this parking garage is like no other built before, or after. Completed in 2010, the open-air garage can hold up to 300 cars at once.
Photo: Courtesy of the High Museum of Art10/51High Museum of Art (Atlanta, Georgia)
Designed by Richard Meier (with a new addition added courtesy of Renzo Piano) the High Museum of Art was crafted by some of the best minds in architecture. Originally built in 1983, the 135,000-square-foot museum was the final building the Pritzker committee needed to see before awarding Meier with the most prestigious prize in architecture the following year. In 2005, Renzo Piano (another Pritzker winner) designed three new buildings, which more than doubled the museum's size, at a cost of $124 million.
A sculpture designed by Auguste Rodin, located in the foreground of the image above, was donated by the French government as a gift after a 1962 plane crash near Paris killed members of some of Atlanta's prominent families who were visiting the Louvre on a museum-sponsored trip.
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Photo: Getty Images11/51Iolani Palace (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Hawaii's Iolani Palace was, at one point, the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Designed by Thomas J. Baker, Charles J. Wall, and Isaac Moore, the building is now a National Historic Landmark.
Photo: Courtesy of Olson Kundig/Tim Bies12/51Outpost (Bellevue, Idaho)
Located in central Idaho, Outpost is an Olson Kundig–designed live/work artist's studio. The interiors feature unfinished recycled fir floors, walls, and cabinets, while the exterior has a space for a garden, which allows for privacy and protection against the desert winds.
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Photo: Getty Images/UIG13/51Aqua Tower (Chicago, Illinois)
When Chicago's Aqua Tower was completed in 2009, it became the world's tallest skyscraper designed by a woman. Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang was able to stretch some balconies out as much as 12 feet. For those walking beneath the-859 foot-tall tower, the uneven balconies have an undulating quality, much like wind over water.
Photo: Danita Delimont / Alamy Stock Photo14/51North Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana)
Designed by inimitable Eero Saarinen, North Christian Church was completed in 1964, three years after the architect's death. The building, which takes on a hexagonal shape, culminates in the middle with a massive 192-foot spire. What's perhaps lesser-known about this structure is that, unlike for most churches, many high-profile architects were interviewed by committee members in the congregation to select who could best complete the job. Ultimately, Eero Saarinen won the commission.
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Photo: Michel Denancé15/51Krause Gateway Center (Des Moines, Iowa)
Designed by Renzo Piano, this modern office building was completed in early 2019. The Krause Gateway Center is the new headquarters of Kum & Go, a convenience store chain primarily located in the midwest. The transparent design allows for a warm and open work space, one in which employees can feel connected to the surrounding city, and landscape.
Photo: Courtesy of Gensler16/51University of Kansas Capitol Federal Hall (Lawrence, Kansas)
Designed by Gensler, the University of Kansas Capitol Federal Hall is a four-story, $70.5 million building that was completed in 2016. The space has a very open and warm feel to it, an aesthetic the architects purposely included in hopes of innovation and collaboration.
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Photo: Brad Feinknopf17/51The Ascent at Roebling's Bridge (Covington, Kentucky)
This residential building looks like no other in the area, or world for that matter. Designed by Daniel Libeskind, this building is located near the Ohio River, which the architect used as inspiration for the radical design.
Photo: Getty Images18/51St. Louis Cathedral (New Orleans, Louisiana)
This stunning building is comprised of three different architectural styles: Renaissance, Gothic Revival, and Spanish Colonial. Completed in 1794, the building is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans.
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Photo: Trent Bell Photography19/51Batson River Residence (Kennebunkport, Maine)
Designed by Carol A. Wilson Architect, Batson River Residence is an adaptive reuse project. The original home was in serious need of repair when the Maine-based firm renovated the home to this stunning example of modern architecture. In the trees are in bloom, the home feels tucked away in the secrecy of the surrounding woods.
Photo: Getty Images/Goran Kosanovic/The Washington Post20/51Glenstone Museum (Potomac, Maryland)
Maryland's Glenstone Museum was designed by American architect Thomas Phifer. Some 1,300 works of art reside in it (namely produced by postwar artists). While the space first opened in 2006, the museum has been renovated and expanded several times (most recently last year, as it was named one of AD's most anticipated buildings for 2018).
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Photo: Jon Bilous / Alamy Stock Photo21/51Ray and Maria Stata Center (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Designed by starchitect Frank Gehry, this complex of buildings was completed in 2004 and is housed on MIT's campus. Several departments, including Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Linguistics and Philosophy use the space. Renowned philosopher and cultural critic Noam Chomsky has an office in one of the Gehry-designed buildings.
Photo: Hufton+Crow22/51Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum (East Lansing, Michigan)
Most lovers of architecture would guess this building's design could only come from the mind of one genius: Zaha Hadid. Opened in 2012, the building features many signature touches that made the Iraqi-born architect so famous. Namely, the angular façade (pictured), composed of pleated stainless steel and glass, which gives the building an energy unmatched on the Michigan State University campus where it resides.
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Photo: Getty Images/Raymond Boyd23/51Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
This art museum displays what makes Frank Gehry's Deconstructivist architecture so iconic—which is to say, sheets of metal that seem to float atop one another, giving the impression of the fragments coming together to create a whole. Located in Minneapolis, this structure provides Midwesterners a postcard-worthy building to call their own.
Photo: Getty Images/Tim Graham24/51Longwood (Natchez, Mississippi)
On paper (and in record books) Longwood is the largest octagonal house in the country. But that's where the less interesting facts end and the excitement begins. This historic mansion (which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark) was designed by the American-born architect Samuel Sloan in 1864, and construction was delayed due to the ongoing Civil War. Today, the mansion is known to locals as Nutt's Folly, a term coined by the original owners, Haller and Julia Nutt.
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Photo: Getty Images25/51Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (Kansas City, Missouri)
Designed by Moshe Safdie, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors in 2011, allowing patrons to enjoy the 285,000-square-foot space for such performances as the Kansas City Ballet, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Symphony.
Photo: Getty Images/Dennis Macdonald26/51Montana State Capitol (Helena)
Completed in 1902, a little more than a decade after Montana became a state, the capitol building embodies neoclassical style. Visitors will have a view inside the building of the beautifully designed rotunda.
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Photo: Courtesy of The Durham Museum27/51The Durham Museum (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Durham Museum is a space beaming with history. It's structure was Omaha's former Union Station, the tracks would once bring 10,000 passengers in and out of the city on a daily basis. The building still contains much of its Art Deco charm, which is one of the many reasons it was listed as both a location on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Photo: Getty Images28/51The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health (Clark County, Nevada)
Nevada might not be top of mind for architecture lovers when it comes to stunning buildings, but it has a few beautiful structures that would put other locales to shame. At the top of the list is the Frank Gehry–designed Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. The twists and turns the Pritzker Prize–winning architect used in his creation are enough to cause anyone to pause and take notice.
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Photo: Getty Images/Vath. Sok29/51Omni Mount Washington Resort (Bretton Woods, New Hampshire)
Omni Mount Washington Resort (formerly known as Mount Washington Hotel) was originally constructed in 1902. When completed, it was one of the finest hotels in the country. It has since survived a great deal (including the Great Depression), and in 1986 was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Photo: Michael Moran30/51Centra Metropark (Iselin, New Jersey)
Completed in 2011, Kohn Pedersen Fox's Centra Metropark is a dream for any lover of modern architecture. The structure is a LEED Platinum building that beautifully blends steel and glass with the existing landscape.
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Photo: Courtesy of New Mexico History Museum, DCA31/51Palace of the Governors (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
Santa Fe's Palace of the Governors was built in 1610 in the Colonial, Spanish-Pueblan style of architecture. The structure has the distinct honor of being the oldest continuously occupied public building in the U.S., a fact that helped with its designation in 1960 as a National Historic Landmark.
Photo: Getty Images32/51Grand Central Station (New York)
New York's Grand Central is not only the most beautifully designed building in the city but one of the most stunning in the country as well. Completed in 1913, this Beaux Arts train station was designed by Reed and Stem. Though both the interiors and exterior of the building are stunning in their own right, what truly makes this building so special is that it's remained the same in design and purpose for over a hundred years. How many buildings, let alone train stations, can hold that claim in America?
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Photo: Courtesy of Snøhetta/Jeff Goldberg33/51James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University (Raleigh)
North Carolina State University's stunningly beautiful library came courtesy of the creative minds at Snøhetta. The Norwegian architecture firm is no stranger to creating modern edifices that are meant to lure in the masses with their design. And the James. B. Hunt Jr. Library is certainly no exception. Upon completion in 2013, the library installed a mural by the exciting Cuban-American artist José Parlá. If students were wavering which North Carolina school to select, this library alone puts it in a league of its own.
Photo: Courtesy of the State Historical Society of North Dakota34/51State Historical Society of North Dakota (Bismarck)
Bismarck's 97,000-square-foot State Historical Society of North Dakota was designed with a limestone exterior throughout, with the exception of a glass-and-steel entrance (pictured) that emphasizes transparency in and out of the space.
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Photo: Aerial Image Solutions35/51National Veterans Memorial and Museum (Columbus, Ohio)
The $75 million project was among the most important buildings to be completed in 2018. Allied Works Architecture designed the exterior, while the landscaping was done by OLIN, which successfully created a green aesthetic that was both inviting and inspiring. The building certainly alters the capital city's skyline in ways only great architecture can—for the better.
Photo: Michael Baxter36/51Chesapeake Boathouse (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Designed by Elliott + Associates Architects, the Chesapeake Boathouse was completed in 2006 for $3.5 million. The local architecture firm wanted the building to mimic a sleek rowing shell floating above the river at night, which they absolutely succeeded.
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Photo: Bruce Forster37/51Portland Japanese Garden (Oregon)
The Kengo Kuma–designed expansion to the Portland Japanese Garden took this area from something good and transformed it into something great. Kuma's 2017 addition included a central courtyard and buildings topped with pagoda-style green roofs.
Photo: Getty Images38/51Fallingwater (Mill Run, Pennsylvania)
Sure, everyone knows about Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater. But that doesn't make it any less impressive. In terms of architecture, there was certainly a before and an after when it came to the 1937 completion of this home. The structure perfectly blends modern and organic architecture in a way that hadn't been seen before—or since.
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Photo: Alamy Stock Photo39/51The Providence Athenaeum (Providence, Rhode Island)
One of the oldest libraries in the country, the Providence Athenaeum was built in 1838 and designed in the Greek Revival style by the Philadelphia architect William Strickland.
Photo: Daniel Borzynski / Alamy Stock Photo40/51Huguenot Church (Charleston, South Carolina)
Designed in the Gothic Revival style and completed in 1844, architect Edward Brickell White's Huguenot Church, in Charleston, is a gem within a city full of architectural wonders.
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Photo: Getty Images/Glenn Nagel41/51Cathedral of Saint Joseph (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Designed by the Franco-American architect Emmanuel Masqueray, Cathedral of Saint Joseph was completed in 1919 for a total of nearly $400,000 (roughly $6 million in 2019). The Renaissance Revival was primarily made using limestone, and in 1974, was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Greg Wright / Alamy Stock Photo42/51The Hunter Museum of American Art (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
As the name suggests, the Hunter Museum of American Art houses works that span from the Hudson River School by artists such as Thomas Cole to more contemporary art by the likes of Andy Warhol. But the exterior of the building is as much of a draw as the art it contains. Originally designed by in 1904 by Abram Garfield (the son of President Garfield), the most recent expansion was finished in 2005 and came courtesy of architect Randall Stout.
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Photo: Inge Johnsson / Alamy Stock Photo43/51Modern Art Museum (Fort Worth, Texas)
Designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, Fort Worth's Modern Art Museum was completed in 2002. The Pritzker prize–winning architect's design is modern and elegant, with a moat surrounding the structure that creates an alluring reflection at night. The museum's permanent collection include works by such luminaries as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman, and Andy Warhol.
Photo: Getty Images44/51St. George Utah Temple (St. George, Utah)
At first, the all-white exterior is what catches the viewer's eye. But look closer, and the Truman O. Angell–designed structure shows quintessential elements of Gothic architecture. The building was completed in 1877 and remains the most beautiful in the state of Utah even after all this time.
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Photo: Getty Images/Erika Mitchell45/51Vermont State House (Montpelier)
This wonderfully designed Greek Revival building came courtesy of architects Thomas Silloway and Ammi B. Young. Completed in 1833, the architects found their inspiration from the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, Greece. After a fire in 1857 destroyed much of the building, a dome was added in the reconstruction, which many believe was done to mimic the dome on the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. (which was being built at the same time).
Photo: Getty Images46/51Monticello (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Designed by the third president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson both built and lived in this home until his death, in 1826. Much of the neoclassical design came to Jefferson's imagination after a trip to Europe in the mid-1780s as he traveled throughout the continent as the Minister to France. Today, tourists can walk throughout the entire estate. Jefferson's gravesite is located near his former home.
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Photo: Getty Images47/51Seattle Public Library (Washington)
Completed in 2004, the Seattle Public Library came courtesy of one of the most exciting minds in all of architecture. Indeed, Rem Koolhaas (along with Joshua Prince-Ramus of OMA) worked in collaboration with the Seattle-based LMN Architects in creating an ultramodern structure that has sections that cantilever over the busy streets below.
Photo: Getty Images/Dwight Nadig48/51United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.)
Although Washington, D.C. is not a state—but rather a federal district and the capital of the United States—the stunning architecture throughout the 68 square miles (almost the exact same size as Brooklyn, New York) made it worthy of landing a spot on our selective list. Lovers of neoclassical, Georgian, gothic, and modern architecture will love walking the streets of Washington, D.C., as it is those four styles that are most prevalent. Yet, it's our belief that the United States Capitol tops all the rest. Thomas Jefferson held a design competition, with the winning bid earning $500. Completed in 1800 by British-American architect William Thornton, the original building did not include the iconic dome in the center of the neoclassical structure (that wasn't added until the 1850s).
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Photo: Getty Images/Dee Browning49/51Cabell County Courthouse (Huntington, West Virginia)
Completed in 1899, Huntington's Cabell County Courthouse exemplifies the very best Beaux Arts–style architecture. James B. Stewart (a Huntington native) worked in designing the building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Photo: Danita Delimont / Alamy Stock Photo50/51Taliesin (Spring Green, Wisconsin)
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Taliesin is the very embodiment of the design principles of the architect's Prairie School. The building is not without controversy, as Frank Lloyd Wright had to rebuild parts of it in 1914 after an arson attack destroyed several areas, ultimately killing seven people. In 1976, Taliesin was designated a National Historic Landmark (it's also being considered as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
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Photo: Andre Jenny / Alamy Stock Photo51/51American Heritage Center (Laramie, Wyoming)
Designed by the American architect Antoine Predock, the American Heritage Center is part of the University of Wyoming's repository of rare books. Completed in 1993, the modern building stands in stark contrast to the big-sky environment it's located in.
