Washington's Skyscrapers: The Tallest Buildings in the DC Metro Area

Updated 08/02/13

Washington D.C. is well-known for its uniform skyline of buildings all built up to around the same height, with the few exceptions being a handful of famous monuments and the U.S. Capitol. The main reason that DC (which currently has a population of over 600,000 residents), doesn't have a towering skyline  like other major cities such as New York or San Francisco is the Heights of Buildings Act of 1910. 

The 1910 Act is the most recent of a series of height restrictions, the first of which was put into law by D.C. Commissioners in 1894 in response to DC's first residential "skyscraper," the 14-story/164 ft. Cairo Hotel (now a condominium building known simply as "The Cairo"). The 1910 Act passed by Congress, which is still in force today, states that maximum height for buildings in DC is 90 feet (27 m) on residential streets, 130 feet (40 m) on commercial streets, and 160 feet (49 m) on a small portion of Pennsylvania Ave.

The Cairo, DC's first "skyscraper"

Over the past decade or so (most recently in 2012) there have been numerous attempts to remove or relax the city's height limit. However, there has also been some vocal opposition, particularly from historical preservationists, that skyscrapers would ruin views of the city's iconic monuments. In general, the District government is very supportive of the removal of height limits in order for it to maintain more control over development, and to maximize land usage in a city that is quickly running out of space to grow and where rent is among the highest in the nation. 

Some proposals have suggested removing the limits in only certain parts of the city, such as east of the Anacostia river. As a big fan of DC architecture I personally wouldn't mind seeing the height limits remaining in place. The uniform-height urban "canyons" that exist downtown on major roads such as K Street and Connecticut Ave are unique to this country and projects an image of orderliness that matches DC's status as the seat of the federal government. Paris also has similar height limits in place for most of the city.

As a result of the city's strict height limits over the years developers have focused on building taller commercial/residential buildings in areas outside of the District in Maryland and Northern Virginia. This has helped to create a number of "mini-downtowns" just beyond of the District line. These include downtown Silver Spring, downtown Bethesda, and Friendship Heights Village (adjacent to the DC community of the same name) in Maryland; and Rosslyn, Ballston-Virginia Square, and Clarendon in Virginia. 

Other older, long established communities such as Alexandria also have a significant number of buildings taller than would be allowed in Washington DC. Each of these areas are commercial/retail/residential hubs composed mainly of high-rise buildings centered around Metro stations. Tysons Corner in Fairfax County and the Rockledge area of Bethesda are also home to headquarters of some of the largest companies in area, but are not Metro accessible (although that is due to change this year for Tysons Corner).

Below I've made separate lists for the 10 tallest (existing) buildings in DC, and it's suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia. Please keep in mind that these lists just include the DC Metro Area, and not the greater Baltimore-Washington Metro Area (Baltimore has the vast majority of skyscrapers in the combined Metro Area and would dominate the lists).

Tallest Buildings in Washington D.C.

The Washington Monument-
the tallest structure in the DC Metro Area

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

The Old Post Office Building

	Name	Stories	Height (ft)
1.	Washington Monument	3	555
2.	Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception		329
3.	Old Post Office Pavilion	12	315
4.	Washington National Cathedral	7	301
5.	United States Capitol	3	289
6.	One Franklin Square	12	210
7.	700 Eleventh Street	13	200
7.	Healy Hall	4.5	200
9.	Onyx on First	14	197
10.	Renaissance Washington DC Hotel	15/12	187
10.	1090 Vermont Ave	12	187

Tallest Buildings in the Maryland Suburbs of DC

North Bethesda Market I-
Currently the tallest building in MD's DC suburbs

One White Flint North/NRC Headquarters

Washington D.C. Mormon Temple in Kensington

	Name	Stories	Height (ft)
1.	North Bethesda Market I	24	289
2.	Mormon Temple (Kensington)		288
3.	Washingtonian Tower (Gaithersburg)	25	275
4.	One White Flint North (North Bethesda)	18	266
5.	Naval Medical Center/Walter Reed (Bethesda)	19	264
6.	White Oak Towers	24	260
7.	Chevy Chase Bank East Tower (Bethesda)	19	250
8.	Chevy Chase Bank West Tower (Bethesda)	19	250
9.	Grosvenor Tower (North Bethesda)	21	~248
10.	TenTenOne Grosvenor (North Bethesda)	21	~248

Tallest Buildings in Northern Virginia

Rosslyn Twin Tower II-
Both Twin Towers are the tallest buildings in NoVa 

Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria

George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria

	Name	Stories	Height (ft)
1.	Rosslyn Twin Tower I	27	381
1.	Rosslyn Twin Tower II	26	381
3.	One Skyline Tower (Bailey's Crossroads)	26	364
4.	Hilton Alexandria Mark Center	30	338
5.	George Washington Masonic Memorial (Alexandria)		333
6.	Turnberry Tower (Rosslyn, Arlington)	27	312
7.	Two Waterview Place (Rosslyn, Arlington)	30	300
7.	One Waterview Place (Rosslyn, Arlington)	24	300
9.	Rosslyn Metro Center II (Rosslyn, Arlington)	27	298
10.	1801 North Lynn Street (Rosslyn, Arlington)	24	283

As you can see from the lists above, the Washington Monument is by far the tallest structure in the Washington region (although some may dispute whether it's an actual "building" or not). Also worth noting is the relatively high number of religious and other monumental structures listed. As far as concentrations of tall buildings are concerned, Rosslyn business district clearly dominates, taking up 7 of the 10 spots in the North Virginia top 10. The major reason for this is that Rosslyn is the closest area to downtown Washington D.C. of all the MD/VA urban areas, being located literally right across the Potomac from Georgetown, and therefore serves as a natural extension of the DC central business district, particularly for buildings too tall for DC. Also, as mentioned in a previous post, VA laws are friendlier to businesses than those in MD (or DC) creating a stronger demand for taller commercial high-rises. 

Crystal City/Pentagon City are noteworthy absences, mainly because of strict height limits similar to DC's but imposed for different reasons. Because of their proximity to National Airport (DCA) and it's approach/departure flight routes, the FAA set a maximum height for buildings in both areas. However, these height limits have recently been relaxed. Unlike other urban areas Crystal City has also suffered from a weak local economy thanks to BRAC, resulting in little commercial/retail activity and high vacancy rates.

Future Skyscrapers
Updated May 9, 2013
The lists above only include existing buildings and there are a number of approved developments, as well as some already under construction, that would be ranked in the top 10 if they were complete:

Central Place in Rosslyn

Hoffman Blocks 11 & 12 in Alexandria

North Bethesda Market II

	Name	Stories	Height (ft)
1.	SAIC-Westpark Tower (Tysons Corner)	30	435
2.	Hoffman Blocks 11 & 12 (Alexandria)	33	396
3.	Central Place (Rosslyn, Arlington)	31	387
4.	1812 North Moore Street (Rosslyn, Arlington)	35	384
5.	Scotts Run Station South (Tysons Corner)	24	365
6.	1760 Reston Parkway (Reston)	23	330
7.	Spring Hill Station (Tysons Corner)	28	330
8.	North Bethesda Market II	26	300
9.	Saul Centers Residential Tower I (North Bethesda)	?	300
10.	Saul Centers Residential Tower II (North Bethesda)	?	300
11.	Saul Centers Residential Tower III (North Bethesda)	?	300
12.	Pike & Rose Block 9 (North Bethesda)	21	287
13.	1725 Tysons Boulevard (Tysons Corner)	23	270
14.	Tysons Tower	22	?

Photo Credits:
North Bethesda Market I- flickr user "DearEdward"
Rosslyn Twin Tower West- panoramio user "KTBowman"