The Tallest Building in Every State

The tallest building in each state actually says a lot about the state as a whole. The tallest building in New York is, no surprise, in Manhattan. One World Trade Center is not just the tallest in the state; it’s the tallest in the whole country. Pennsylvania’s tallest building, the brand-new Comcast Technology Center, is the third tallest of all buildings, considered the “tallest in their state.” But because Manhattan and Chicago have so many supertall buildings, the Comcast Technology Center is only the 10th tallest in the country.

Most of the tallest buildings in each state are office buildings, mostly owned by a premier tenant who takes up most of the office space. It should come as no surprise that banks are the most common type of company that owns these large buildings. Bank of America, for instance, owns two buildings on the list of tallest in each state. Wells Fargo, too, appears on the list more than once.

There are other types of tall buildings, however. Nevada’s is The Palazzo, a hotel/casino. That figures as the Las Vegas Strip is one of the most visited places in the whole country. New Jersey’s tallest building is residential. That makes sense because the Garden State is the most densely populated state in the union. West Virginia’s tallest building is the state capitol. It doesn’t have the need for, or population to support, a supertall residential or office space development.

We start the list with the shortest “tallest building” and work our way up.

South Dakota – CenturyLink Tower

City: Sioux Falls
Height: 174 feet
Floors: 11
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1986

This office space defaulted to the number one spot after the demolition of a 200-foot feed tower which previously held the title. Only in South Dakota.

Georgia – Bank of America Plaza

City: Atlanta
Height: 1,023 feet
Floors: 55
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1992

Relative to the city street, this building sits at a forty-five degree angle, stretching crookedly into the sky and just shy of the top twenty tallest in the country.

Maine – Agora Grand Event Center

City: Lewiston
Height: 220 feet
Floors: 3
Building Type: Event Center (former church)
Year Completed: 1890

Previously a Catholic church, the building was renovated and extended to its present height in the past few decades. It’s primarily utilized now as a wedding venue.

North Dakota – North Dakota State Capitol

City: Bismarck
Height: 242 feet
Floors: 19
Building Type: Governmental Offices
Year Completed: 1934

Beyond the novelty of its height, the state capitol attracts all kinds of tourists each year with the parks and museum exhibits which surround it.

North Carolina – Bank of America Corporate Center

City: Charlotte
Height: 871 feet
Floors: 60
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1992

This giant comes just short of breaking the top thirty tallest in the country. That said, it can be seen from over thirty miles away, which is still quite the accomplishment.

Montana – First Interstate Center

City: Billings
Height: 272 feet
Floors: 20
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1985

The space is mostly used as an office environment, but with the added bonus of the best view besides the mountains.

Colorado – Republic Plaza

City: Denver
Height: 714 feet
Floors: 56
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1984

As if the altitude of the Colorado Rockies wasn’t high enough, this building adds another sever hundred feet. Just looking at it can make you light-headed.

Arkansas – Simmons Tower

City: Little Rock
Height: 546 feet
Floors: 40
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1986

Unlike the case in Connecticut, Simmons Tower outstretched its closest contender, and next door neighbor, by nearly a hundred feet. Both are occupied by bank headquarters, so we know where the money is in Arkansas.

West Virginia – West Virginia State Capitol

City: Charleston
Height: 293 feet
Floors: 4
Building Type: Governmental Offices
Year Completed: 1932

Another government building makes the state record, but the height comes mostly from its gilded dome.

Tennessee – AT&T Building

City: Nashville
Height: 617 feet
Floors: 33
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1994

Apart from it’s height, the cat-ear antenna towers on either side make it easy to pick out in the Nashville skyline.

Alaska – Conoco-Phillips Building

City: Anchorage
Height: 296 feet
Floors: 22
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1983

Though the main tower from which this building gets its height is just office space for the namesake company, a beautiful atrium connects it to a shorter counterpart. This middle space house public events for the local residents.

Idaho – Eighth & Main

City: Boise
Height: 323 feet
Floors: 18
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 2014

The space this tower occupies sat vacant for decades after the demolition of the previous tenant, the Overland Hotel.

Kansas – Epic Center

City: Wichita
Height: 325 feet
Floors: 22
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1989

Here’s another office space, but the residents of this one range from lawyers to agents of the Secret Service and the FBI.

Wisconsin – U.S. Bank Center

City: Milwaukee
Height: 601 feet
Floors: 42
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1973

This tower if functional for more than just people; the owners installed a habitat box for peregrine falcons as an environmental preservation measure.

Mississippi – Beau Rivage Casino Hotel

City: Biloxi
Height: 347 feet
Floors: 32
Building Type: Casino & Hotel
Year Completed: 1999

Louisiana – One Shell Square

City: New Orleans
Height: 697 feet
Floors: 51
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1972

We weren’t sure this was possible, but One Shell Square is so large, it has its own zip code.

South Carolina – Capitol Center

City: Columbia
Height: 349 feet
Floors: 26
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1987

Though it’s taken on a few different names since its completion in 1987, this building has provided a weekly work space for about a thousand people.

New Mexico – Albuquerque Plaza

City: Albuquerque
Height: 351 feet
Floors: 22
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1990

Not only is this the tallest building in the state, its thermal energy storage system also makes it one of the most energy efficient.

Nebraska – First National Bank Tower

City: Omaha
Height: 634 feet
Floors: 45
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 2002

This monstrous tower out did the previous Omaha record holder for this honor by fifteen stories. How’s that for competition? Speaking of, the building also hosts annual race up it’s forty-five flights of stairs.

Delaware – Chase Manhattan Centre

City: Wilmington
Height: 360 feet
Floors: 23
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1988

Depending on the weather, employees on the top few floors get a clear view of the Philadelphia skyline, miles away.

Utah – Wells Fargo Center

City: Salt Lake City
Height: 422 feet
Floors: 26
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1998

This postmodern piece of architecture has shift hands a few time, but it has proudly worn the Wells Fargo sign for a few decades.

Alabama – RSA Battle House Tower

City: Mobile
Height: 745 feet
Floors: 35
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 2007

Multiple hurricanes affecting the area may have delayed the building’s construction, none since have been able to knock it down.

Rhode Island – Industrial National Bank Building

City: Providence
Height: 428 feet
Floors: 26
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1927

Locals call it the Superman Building for its resemblance to the workplace of his alter ego, Clark Kent.

New Hampshire – City Hall Plaza

City: Manchester
Height: 275 feet
Floors: 20
Building Type: Commercial & Governmental Offices
Year Completed: 1992

The towering brick and limestone stand taller than any other United States building north of Massachusetts.

Hawaii – First Hawaiian Center

City: Honolulu
Height: 429 feet
Floors: 30
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1996

Thirty stories offer oceanfront views to all the First Hawaiian Bank central office employees.

Arizona – Chase Tower

City: Phoenix
Height: 483 feet
Floors: 40
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1972

The 39th floor used to be dedicated as an observatory, but since some renovations in recent years, only the Chase employees have access to this unique view across Phoenix and beyond.

Virginia – The Westin Virginia BeachTown Center

City: Virginia Beach
Height: 508 feet
Floors: 38
Building Type: Hotel & Residential Apartments
Year Completed: 2007

This gorgeous, beachfront hotel offers a luxurious stay, but at a price. The cheapest rooms start at $250 a night.

Connecticut – City Place I

City: Hartford
Height: 535 feet
Floors: 38
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1980

City Place just barely broke the record, beating the previous owner of the ‘highest’ honor, Travelers Tower, by a measly two meters.

Vermont – Decker Towers

City: Burlington
Height: 124 feet
Floors: 11
Building Type: Residential Apartments
Year Completed: 1971

Since its completion, the building has been a great home for countless disabled and elderly individuals.

New Jersey – 99 Hudson Street

City: Jersey City
Height: 900 feet
Floors: 79
Building Type: Residential Apartments
Year Completed: 2020

99 Hudson makes the the tallest residential building outside of our two taller cities, New York and Chicago.

Washington – Columbia Center

City: Seattle
Height: 943 feet
Floors: 76
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1985

Beyond Washington, the Columbia Center held the title of tallest on the the West Coast until California came in to take it on a few occasions.

Oregon – Wells Fargo Center

City: Portland
Height: 546 feet
Floors: 41
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1972

It may be tall, but that’s about it. Around the time of the building’s completion, Ivan Doig described it in the New York Times as “huge and sleek and featureless.”

Wyoming – Wyoming Financial Center

City: Cheyenne
Height: 148 feet
Floors: 11
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1990

This may be the tallest in the state, but eleven stories doesn’t seem as impressive compared to the rocky cliffs overlooking the city.

Missouri – One Kansas City Place

City: Kansas City
Height: 624 feet
Floors: 42
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1988

Here’s another building that brings a bit of color to the sky to correlate with the season, though most of the year it’s shinning out in red, white, and blue.

Iowa – 801 Grand

City: Des Moines
Height: 630 feet
Floors: 45
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1991

The brown point of the top was meant to be the same sea green as the Statue of Liberty, but without New York’s salty sea air, the Des Moines copper didn’t oxidize the same way.

Nevada – The Palazzo

City: Paradise
Height: 642 feet
Floors: 50
Building Type: Casino & Hotel
Year Completed: 2007

It might not be the tallest structure in the state, since Nevada is home to Stratosphere Tower, the tallest observation tower in the country. However, the Palazzo is the tallest building and, depending on who you are, can be a lot more fun.

Maryland – Transamerica Tower

City: Baltimore
Height: 529 feet
Floors: 40
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1972

The method of this building’s construction was experimental at the time, but gain in popularity after the success of this tall Baltimore resident.

Michigan – Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center

City: Detroit
Height: 755 feet
Floors: 73
Building Type: Hotel
Year Completed: 1977

This system of seven connected skyscrapers is home to the world headquarters for General Motors as well as countless hotel guests each year.

Massachusetts – John Hancock Tower

City: Boston
Height: 790 feet
Floors: 60
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1976

This beautiful building in the Boston skyline is known just as prominently for its flaws as for its appearance. Studies have found that its windows are all at risk of following out onto pedestrians below.

Minnesota – IDS Center

City: Minneapolis
Height: 792 feet
Floors: 57
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1973

The ISD Center nearly double the size of the hitherto tallest building on the block, and since its completion, it has housed the headquarters to its fair share of cooperate giants.

Indiana – Salesforce Tower

City: Indianapolis
Height: 811 feet
Floors: 48
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1990

The building has changed hands a few times since its completion, but it now houses the software giant, Salesforce. All the while, it never lost its significance specific to the city.

Oklahoma – Devon Energy Center

City: Oklahoma City
Height: 850 feet
Floors: 50
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 2012

This one won’t be hard for you to spot in its home skyline; the center reaches higher than anything around for mile without any close competitor.

Flordia – Panorama Tower

City: Miami
Height: 868 feet
Floors: 85
Building Type: Mixed Use (residential, hotel, & commercial)
Year Completed: 2018

The owners of this building had to halt its construction after the economy crash in 2008, but finally got the tower to reach the top of the Florida sky. However, a few other structures being built now may soon take the title.

Kentucky – 400 West Market

City: Louisville
Height: 549 feet
Floors: 35
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1993

This dome-topped sky scraper lights up the Louisville skyline, often with changing colored lights meant to match the season.

Ohio – Key Tower

City: Cleveland
Height: 947 feet
Floors: 57
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1991

Key Tower, named for the financial firm KeyCorp, tower over every other building in the Midwest outside of Chicago. Why is it always the banks money businesses that hold this honor across the states?

Texas – JPMorgan Chase Tower

City: Houston
Height: 1,002 feet
Floors: 75
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1982

The building took on some serious damage during Hurricane Ike in 2008, but has since bounced back in a big way. 1000 feet? Wow, it seems like everything really is bigger in Texas.

California – Wilshire Grand Center

City: Los Angeles
Height: 1,100 feet
Floors: 73
Building Type: Mixed Use (hotel & commercial)
Year Completed: 2017

It takes a lot to be the biggest in California. To reach that title, this guy fills over seven hundred square feet of Pacific space and an entire block in LA’s financial district.

Pennsylvania – Comcast Technology Center

City: Philadelphia
Height: 1,121 feet
Floors: 60
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 2018

Millions of rentable office, retail, and hotel square-footage soaring into the Philadelphia skyline more than puts the city on the map for skyscrapers, but there’s a reason we compare everything to New York and Chicago.

Illinois – Willis Tower

City: Chicago
Height: 1,41 feet
Floors: 108
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 1974

For a quarter of a century, Willis Tower (then Sears Tower) stood as the tallest building on the planet. A few places have since surpassed it, but that kind of notoriety is still legendary.

New York – One World Trade Center

City: New York City
Height: 1,776 feet
Floors: 104
Building Type: Commercial Offices
Year Completed: 2014

Also known as Freedom Tower, here stands the tallest building in the country, and the hemisphere for that matter. Beyond functionality, the tower stands as a monument to the Twin Towers lost in the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, at an appropriate 1,776 feet.

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