Story at a glance
- The J. Edgar Hoover Building, located in Washington, D.C., is the second ugliest building in the world, according to a new ranking.
- Additional U.S. eyesores that made the list include the Verizon Building in New York City and the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.
- The analysis is based on the percentage of tweets about each building that criticize its appearance.
Six of the world’s top 10 ugliest buildings are located in the United States, according to a new ranking from Buildworld.
The J. Edgar Hoover Building, located in Washington, D.C., ranked second among the world’s top eyesores, while Boston City Hall in Massachusetts ranked third.
The list is based on language people use to describe the buildings on Twitter. Researchers compiled a list of buildings often ranked as the ugliest, then searched the buildings along with keywords on Twitter. They used a sentiment analysis tool to analyze the percentage of tweets that expressed negative feelings about each building’s design.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
The Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh, Scotland, is considered the ugliest building in the world, according to Twitter users.
The Verizon Building on Pearl Street in New York City came in sixth, while the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C., The Denver International Airport in Colorado and Trump Tower in Las Vegas rounded out the eighth, ninth and 10th slots, respectively.
Users felt the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, was the ugliest building outside of the United States and United Kingdom.
The J Edgar Hoover Building serves as the headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was America’s most expensive government building upon completion. Building began in the early 1960s and was completed in 1977.
According to Buildworld, the building is criticized in nearly 40 percent of tweets that mention it.
Boston’s City Hall is criticized in around a quarter of tweets, while the Verizon building receives criticism in 20 percent of tweets.
Some buildings have received criticism of their appearance outside of Twitter as well. A 2018 Architectural Digest article describes Las Vegas’ Trump Tower as “an eyesore even in a city filled with over-the-top architecture.”
Here are the 10 ugliest buildings in the world, according to Twitter users:
- Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh, Scotland
- J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington D.C., United States
- Newport Station, Newport, Wales
- Boston City Hall, Boston, United States
- Preston Train Station, Preston, England
- Verizon Building, New York, United States
- Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang, North Korea
- Watergate Complex, Washington D.C., United States
- The Denver International Airport, Colorado, United States
- Trump Tower, Las Vegas, United States
When it comes to the ugliest buildings in the United States, other eyesores just outside the top 10 include the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the Thompson Center in Chicago, the Alamodome in San Antonio and the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee.
Data for the rankings were collected in October 2022.
Published on Jan 23,2023