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AIA, Harris Interactive Poll: Empire State Building Tops the List of Beloved U.S. Buildings

February 7, 2007

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Courtesy The Skyscraper Museum.

America¹s favorite building in the U.S. is the Empire State Building, while Frank Lloyd Wright was the nation¹s most prolific architect of popular structures‹this according to a Harris Interactive poll released today in honor of the American Institute of Architect¹s 150th anniversary (see complete list below). To compile its list of the most popular buildings in the U.S., Harris Interactive polled more than 1,800 adults based on a preselected list of 247 buildings compiled by an AIA panel. The AIA commissioned the survey to generate public awareness about architecture.

“(The poll) confirms that architecture resonates with people,” AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA, said in a statement that accompanied the poll’s release this morning near the U.S. Capitol building, which itself ranked No. 6 on the list. “These buildings hold a place in their hearts and minds.” The release of the poll was timed to coincide with the AIA’s annual Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference. Nearly 800 architects are visiting Washington, D.C., this week to participate in networking events and meet with members of Congress about sustainability and other issues important to the profession.

At the tip of Americans’ minds, so to speak, is Shreve Lamb & Harmon’s Empire State Building, the second tallest building in the country—the tallest skyscraper, Skidmore Owings & Merrill’s Sears Tower, placed 43rd on the list. American’s second favorite structure is the White House, followed by the National Cathedral and the Jefferson Memorial, both in Washington; the Golden Gate Bridge; the U.S. Capitol; and the Lincoln Memorial. Nearly half of the 150 buildings selected are located in Washington, D.C., New York City, or Chicago.

With eight buildings on the list, Frank Lloyd Wright’s work appears most often. Henry Hobson Richardson’s buildings are cited six times and Richard Meier’s were cited five times. Three projects designed by women were included, including two in the top 10: Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Golden Gate Bridge designed by Gertrude Morrow along with her husband, Irving. Hearst Castle, designed by Julia Morgan is on the list as well. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is the oldest building, begun around 1769 and completed in 1809, and the newest is the New York Times’ new headquarters by Renzo Piano. It is still under construction and will be completed later this year.

Barbara J. Saffir

The Complete List
Rank	Building
1	Empire State Building - New York, NY
2	The White House - Washington, DC
3	Washington National Cathedral - Washington DC
4	Thomas Jefferson Memorial - Washington DC
5	Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, CA
6	US Capitol - Washington, DC
7	Lincoln Memorial - Washington, DC
8	Biltmore Estates/Vanderbilt Residence - Ashville, NC
9	Chrysler Building - New York, NY
10	Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Washington, DC
11	St. Patrick's Cathedral - New York, NY
12	Washington Monument - Washington, DC
13	Grand Central Station - New York, NY
14	Gateway Arch - St. Louis, MO
15	Supreme Court of the United States - Washington, DC
16	St. Regis - New York, NY
17	Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York, NY
18	Hotel Del Coronado - San Diego, CA
19	World Trade Center - NY
20	Brooklyn Bridge - New York, NY
21	Philadelphia City Hall - Philadelphia, PA
22	Bellagio Hotel and Casino - Las Vegas, NV
23	Cathedral of St. John the Divine - New York, NY
24	Philadelphia Museum of Art - Philadelphia, PA
25	Trinity Church, Boston, MA
26	Ahwanee Hotel - Yosemite Valley, CA
27	Monticello - Charlottesville, VA
28	Library of Congress - Washington, DC
29	Falling Water/Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence - Bear Run, PA
30	Taliesin East - Spring Green, WI
31	Wrigley Field - Chicago, IL
32	Wanamaker's Department Store - Philadelphia, PA
33	Rose Center For Earth And Space - American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
34	National Gallery of Art (West Wing) - Washington, DC
35	Allegheny Country Courthouse - Pittsburgh, PA
36	Old Faithful Inn - Yellowstone National Park, WY
37	Union Station - Washington, DC
38	Tribune Tower - Chicago, IL
39	Delano Hotel - Miami Beach, FL
40	Union Station - St. Louis, MO
41	Hearst Residence - San Simeon, CA
42	Sears Tower - Chicago, IL
43	Crane Library - Quincy, MA
44	Woolworth Building - New York, NY
45	Cincinnati Union Terminal - Cincinnati, OH
46	Waldorf Astoria - New York, NY
47	New York Public Library - New York, NY
48	Carnegie Hall - New York, NY
49	San Francisco City Hall - San Francisco, CA
50	Virginia State Capitol - Richmond, VA
51	Cadet Chapel - Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO
52	Field Museum of Natural History - Chicago, IL
53	Apple - 5th Avenue New York, NY
54	Furness Library - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
55	Mauna Kea Beach Hotel - Kohala Coast (the Big Island), Hawaii
56	Rockefeller Center - New York, NY
57	Denver International Airport - Denver, CO
58	Ames Library - North Easton, MA
59	Milwaukee Art Museum - Milwaukee, WI
60	Thorncrown Chapel - Eureka Springs, AR
61	TransAmerica Building - San Francisco, CA
62	333 Wacker Drive - Chicago, IL
63	Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum - Washington, DC
64	Faneuil Hall Marketplace - Boston, MA
65	Crystal Cathedral - Garden Grove, CA
66	Gamble House - Pasadena, CA
67	Nebraska State Capital - Lincoln, NE
68	New York Times Building - New York, NY
69	Salt Lake City Public Library - Salt Lake City, Utah
70	Dolphin and Swan - Walt Disney World, Orlando (Lake Buena Vista), FL
71	Hearst Tower - New York, NY
72	Flatiron Building/Fuller Building, New York, NY
73	Lake Point Tower - Chicago, IL
74	Guggenheim Museum – New York, NY
75	Union Station - Los Angeles, CA
76	Willard Hotel - Washington DC
77	Sever Hall - Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
78	Broadmoor Hotel - Colorado Springs, CO
79	Ronald Reagan Building - Washington, DC
80	Phillips Exeter Academy Library - Exeter, New Hampshire
81	The Plaza Hotel - New York, NY
82	Sofitel - Chicago, IL
83	Glessner House - Chicago, IL
84	Yankee Stadium - New York, NY
85	Chicago Public Library - Chicago IL
86	Lincoln Center - New York, NY
87	The Dakota Apartments - New York, NY
88	Art Institute Of Chicago - Chicago, IL
89	Fairmont Hotel - San Francisco, CA
90	Boston Public Library - Boston, MA
91	Hollywood Bowl - Hollywood, CA
92	Texas State Capitol - Austin TX
93	Fontainebleau - Miami Beach, FL
94	University of Michigan Law Library - Ann Arbor, MI
95	Getty Museum - Los Angeles, CA
96	High Museum - Atlanta, GA
97	Federal Building and United States Courthouse - Islip, New York
98	Humana Building - Louisville, KY
99	Disney Concert Hall - Los Angeles, CA
100	Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY
101	Paul Brown Stadium - Cincinnati, OH
102	United Airlines Terminal - O'Hare, Chicago, IL
103	Hyatt Regency - Atlanta, GA
104	AT&T Park (San Francisco Giants Stadium) - San Francisco, CA
105	Time Warner Center - New York, NY
106	Washington, DC Metro - Washington, DC
107	IDS Center/IDS Tower, Minneapolis, MN
108	Seattle Public Library - Seattle, WA
109	Museum of Modern Art - San Francisco, CA
110	Union Station - Chicago, IL
111	United Nations Headquarters - New York, NY
112	National Building Museum/Pension Building - Washington, DC
113	Fenway Park - Boston, MA
114	Dana-Thomas House - Springfield, IL
115	TWA Terminal - JFK Airport, New York, NY
116	The Athenaeum - New Harmony, IN
117	Walker Art Center - Minneapolis, MN
118	American Airlines Center - Dallas, TX
119	Biltmore Arizona - Phoenix, AZ
120	Los Angeles Central Library - Los Angeles, CA
121	San Francisco International Airport - San Francisco, CA
122	Camden Yards - Baltimore, MD
123	Taliesin West - Scottsdale, Arizona, AZ
124	Holocaust Museum - Washington, DC
125	Citicorp Center - New York City
126	V. C. Morris Gift Shop / Xanadu Gallery - San Francisco, CA
127	Union Station - Kansas City, MO
128	Rookery Building - Chicago, IL
129	Weisman Art Museum - University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
130	Douglas House - Harbor Springs, MI
131	Barnsdall House/ Hollyhock House - Los Angeles, CA
132	Pennzoil Place - Houston, TX
133	Royalton Hotel - New York, NY
134	Astrodome - Houston, TX
135	Safeco Field - Seattle, WA
136	Corning Museum of Glass - Corning, NY
137	30th Street Station - Philadelphia, PA
138	Robie House - Chicago, IL
139	Williams Tower (Transco Tower) - Houston, TX
140	Stahl House/Case Study House #22 - Los Angeles, CA
141	Apple – New York (SoHo), NY
142	John Hancock Hotel and Conference Center, Boston, MA
143	Pennsylvania Station/Penn Station - New York, NY
144	Hyatt Regency - San Francisco, CA
145	Carson Pirie Scott – Chicago, IL
146	Museum of Modern Art - New York, NY
147	Auditorium Building - Chicago, IL
148	Brown Palace - Denver, CO
149	Ingalls Ice Arena - Yale University, New Haven, CT
150	Battle Hall - University of Texas, Austin, TX

For additional coverage, please see the March 2007 issue of RECORD.