1101 Vermont Avenue NW: If the architect put any thought into this putty-colored, utterly featureless building when it was constructed in 1981, I shudder to think what their more creative efforts might look like.
1101 Vermont Avenue NW: If the architect put any thought into this putty-colored, utterly featureless building when it was constructed in 1981, I shudder to think what their more creative efforts might look like. Credit: By

It’s easy to complain about downtown’s uninspired, Height-Act-flattened boxy office buildings. And much of the disdain is deserved. But there are a good number of really excellent buildings downtown as well—so after a bit of trashing, we’ll move on to some examples.

  • 1101 Vermont Avenue NW: If the architect put any thought into this putty-colored, utterly featureless building when it was constructed in 1981, I shudder to think what their more creative efforts might look like.
    1101 Vermont Avenue NW: If the architect put any thought into this putty-colored, utterly featureless building when it was constructed in 1981, I shudder to think what their more creative efforts might look like. Credit: By
  • 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue: Putty must have been all the rage in the early 1980s, and this edifice is even worse-looking than its Vermont Avenue doppelganger, with a long blank wall on 12th Street that totally deadens the space between lively E Street and Pennsylvania.
    1201 Pennsylvania Avenue: Putty must have been all the rage in the early 1980s, and this edifice is even worse-looking than its Vermont Avenue doppelganger, with a long blank wall on 12th Street that totally deadens the space between lively E Street and Pennsylvania. Credit: By
  • 600 E Street NW: Did someone build a jail downtown? No, but if you wanted to create one, you could do worse than this 1976 red-brick abomination, with its slit-like windows and shadowy arcades.
    600 E Street NW: Did someone build a jail downtown? No, but if you wanted to create one, you could do worse than this 1976 red-brick abomination, with its slit-like windows and shadowy arcades. Credit: By
  • 500 5th Street NW: What happens if you give an eight-year-old a box of tinkertoys, told her to design a building, and then gave her several truckloads of concrete? The Jackson Graham Building, home to the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, which you probably wouldnt visit unless you had a very good reason to be there.t visit unless you had a very good reason to be there.
    500 5th Street NW: What happens if you give an eight-year-old a box of tinkertoys, told her to design a building, and then gave her several truckloads of concrete? The Jackson Graham Building, home to the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, which you probably wouldnt visit unless you had a very good reason to be there.t visit unless you had a very good reason to be there. Credit: By
  • 450 7th Street NW: Theres no problem with the street level on this one, whose historic facades house Jaleo and the Lansburgh Theater. But the upper floors, built in the 1990s, are the kind of suburban schlock you'd expect in Falls Church---cheesy brickwork, completely undetailed windows, and top cornices that are plainly fake from street level. s no problem with the street level on this one, whose historic facades house Jaleo and the Lansburgh Theater. But the upper floors, built in the 1990s, are the kind of suburban schlock youd expect in Falls Church---cheesy brickwork, completely undetailed windows, and top cornices that are plainly fake from street level. d expect in Falls Church---cheesy brickwork, completely undetailed windows, and top cornices that are plainly fake from street level.
    450 7th Street NW: Theres no problem with the street level on this one, whose historic facades house Jaleo and the Lansburgh Theater. But the upper floors, built in the 1990s, are the kind of suburban schlock you’d expect in Falls Church—cheesy brickwork, completely undetailed windows, and top cornices that are plainly fake from street level. s no problem with the street level on this one, whose historic facades house Jaleo and the Lansburgh Theater. But the upper floors, built in the 1990s, are the kind of suburban schlock youd expect in Falls Church—cheesy brickwork, completely undetailed windows, and top cornices that are plainly fake from street level. d expect in Falls Church—cheesy brickwork, completely undetailed windows, and top cornices that are plainly fake from street level. Credit: By
  • The J. Edgar Hoover Building: Theres no more obvious inclusion on a horrible buildings list than the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Brutalist headquarters. Originally intended in the 1960s to help enliven Pennsylvania Avenue, the feds decided to ditch retail and restaurants on the ground floor, creating a black hole in the middle of downtown. We likely won't be rid of it soon, though: Just knocking the thing down would take a pretty penny, given the amount of crushed dolomite limestone that went into building it. s no more obvious inclusion on a horrible buildings list than the Federal Bureau of Investigations Brutalist headquarters. Originally intended in the 1960s to help enliven Pennsylvania Avenue, the feds decided to ditch retail and restaurants on the ground floor, creating a black hole in the middle of downtown. We likely won't be rid of it soon, though: Just knocking the thing down would take a pretty penny, given the amount of crushed dolomite limestone that went into building it. s Brutalist headquarters. Originally intended in the 1960s to help enliven Pennsylvania Avenue, the feds decided to ditch retail and restaurants on the ground floor, creating a black hole in the middle of downtown. We likely wont be rid of it soon, though: Just knocking the thing down would take a pretty penny, given the amount of crushed dolomite limestone that went into building it. t be rid of it soon, though: Just knocking the thing down would take a pretty penny, given the amount of crushed dolomite limestone that went into building it.
    The J. Edgar Hoover Building: Theres no more obvious inclusion on a horrible buildings list than the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Brutalist headquarters. Originally intended in the 1960s to help enliven Pennsylvania Avenue, the feds decided to ditch retail and restaurants on the ground floor, creating a black hole in the middle of downtown. We likely won’t be rid of it soon, though: Just knocking the thing down would take a pretty penny, given the amount of crushed dolomite limestone that went into building it. s no more obvious inclusion on a horrible buildings list than the Federal Bureau of Investigations Brutalist headquarters. Originally intended in the 1960s to help enliven Pennsylvania Avenue, the feds decided to ditch retail and restaurants on the ground floor, creating a black hole in the middle of downtown. We likely won’t be rid of it soon, though: Just knocking the thing down would take a pretty penny, given the amount of crushed dolomite limestone that went into building it. s Brutalist headquarters. Originally intended in the 1960s to help enliven Pennsylvania Avenue, the feds decided to ditch retail and restaurants on the ground floor, creating a black hole in the middle of downtown. We likely wont be rid of it soon, though: Just knocking the thing down would take a pretty penny, given the amount of crushed dolomite limestone that went into building it. t be rid of it soon, though: Just knocking the thing down would take a pretty penny, given the amount of crushed dolomite limestone that went into building it. Credit: By
  • 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW: One of the citys only 14-story buildings, this full city block designed by Hartman Cox in 1987 incorporates smaller historic buildings to create pleasingly irregular setbacks in what might otherwise be a boring, boxy massif. s only 14-story buildings, this full city block designed by Hartman Cox in 1987 incorporates smaller historic buildings to create pleasingly irregular setbacks in what might otherwise be a boring, boxy massif.
    1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW: One of the citys only 14-story buildings, this full city block designed by Hartman Cox in 1987 incorporates smaller historic buildings to create pleasingly irregular setbacks in what might otherwise be a boring, boxy massif. s only 14-story buildings, this full city block designed by Hartman Cox in 1987 incorporates smaller historic buildings to create pleasingly irregular setbacks in what might otherwise be a boring, boxy massif. Credit: By
  • 1180 F Street NW: Theres something really handsome in how the ledge above the retail level creates a relatable human scale on the sidewalk, while the vaguely Art Deco, articulated metal detailing draws the eye up to the roofline---columnar without being suffocatingly faux-classical. s something really handsome in how the ledge above the retail level creates a relatable human scale on the sidewalk, while the vaguely Art Deco, articulated metal detailing draws the eye up to the roofline---columnar without being suffocatingly faux-classical.
    1180 F Street NW: Theres something really handsome in how the ledge above the retail level creates a relatable human scale on the sidewalk, while the vaguely Art Deco, articulated metal detailing draws the eye up to the roofline—columnar without being suffocatingly faux-classical. s something really handsome in how the ledge above the retail level creates a relatable human scale on the sidewalk, while the vaguely Art Deco, articulated metal detailing draws the eye up to the roofline—columnar without being suffocatingly faux-classical. Credit: By
  • Market Square: Another Hartman Cox creation on Pennsylvania Avenue from 1990, Market Square defines an intimate space in Penn Quarter not just for its Fortune 500 tenants or the residents of its high-end penthouses, but anyone who cares to take a long lunch by the fountain.
    Market Square: Another Hartman Cox creation on Pennsylvania Avenue from 1990, Market Square defines an intimate space in Penn Quarter not just for its Fortune 500 tenants or the residents of its high-end penthouses, but anyone who cares to take a long lunch by the fountain. Credit: By
  • 500 New Jersey Avenue NW: The headquarters of the National Association of Realtors, built in 2005, makes the best possible use of a splinter of land between New Jersey and First Street NW with a torpedo-like building that accentuates the view towards the Capitol while also providing friendly space for passerby.
    500 New Jersey Avenue NW: The headquarters of the National Association of Realtors, built in 2005, makes the best possible use of a splinter of land between New Jersey and First Street NW with a torpedo-like building that accentuates the view towards the Capitol while also providing friendly space for passerby. Credit: By
  • Constitution Square: No piece of construction has defined NoMa as a neighborhood more than this massive new mixed-use development, which reads less like one building than a bunch of them squished together. Its attractive from pretty much every angle: The rooftop pool, the bustling corner created by a grocery store, the smaller storefronts for other restaurants that are finally drawing people to this brand-new submarket. s attractive from pretty much every angle: The rooftop pool, the bustling corner created by a grocery store, the smaller storefronts for other restaurants that are finally drawing people to this brand-new submarket.
    Constitution Square: No piece of construction has defined NoMa as a neighborhood more than this massive new mixed-use development, which reads less like one building than a bunch of them squished together. Its attractive from pretty much every angle: The rooftop pool, the bustling corner created by a grocery store, the smaller storefronts for other restaurants that are finally drawing people to this brand-new submarket. s attractive from pretty much every angle: The rooftop pool, the bustling corner created by a grocery store, the smaller storefronts for other restaurants that are finally drawing people to this brand-new submarket. Credit: By
  • 801 17th Street NW, a.k.a Lafayette Tower: The first LEED Platinum-certified office building in D.C., this building has a transparent facade that seems to float in the air, almost as if there were no building there at all---a relief in this exhaustingly monumental city.
    801 17th Street NW, a.k.a Lafayette Tower: The first LEED Platinum-certified office building in D.C., this building has a transparent facade that seems to float in the air, almost as if there were no building there at all—a relief in this exhaustingly monumental city. Credit: By