America's Favorite Architecture Explained

"America's Favorite Architecture" is a list of buildings and other structures identified as the most popular works of architecture in the United States.

In 2006 and 2007, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) sponsored research to identify the most popular works of architecture in the United States. Harris Interactive conducted the study by first polling a sample of the AIA membership and later polling a sample of the public.^[1]

In the first phase of the study, 2,448 AIA members were interviewed and asked to identify their "favorite" structures. Each was asked to name up to 20 structures in each of 15 defined categories. The 248 structures that were named by at least six of the AIA members were then included in a list of structures to be included in the next phase, a survey of the general public. The survey of the public involved a total of 2,214 people, each of whom rated many photographs of buildings and other structures drawn from the list of 248 structures that had been created by polling the architects. The public's preferences were ranked using a "likeability" scale developed for the study.^{[1] [2]}

As part of the commemoration of the organization's 150th anniversary in 2007, the AIA announced the list of the 150 highest-ranked structures as "America's Favorite Architecture". New York City is the location of 32 structures on the list, more than any other place. Of the 10 top-ranked structures, 6 are in Washington, DC, which is the location of 17 of the 150 structures on the complete list.^[2] Chicago has 16 structures on the list.

The 150 top-ranked structures are listed below.^[3]

List of "America's Favorites"

Rank	Structure	City	State	Architect(s)	Built	Style	Picture
1				William F. Lamb	1930–31
2				James Hoban	1792–1800
3				George Frederick Bodley, Henry Vaughan and Philip H. Frohman	1906–88
4	Jefferson Memorial	Washington	DC	John Russell Pope	1939–43	Neoclassical
5	Golden Gate Bridge	San Francisco	CA	Irving F. Morrow and Gertrude C. Morrow	1933–37	Art Deco
6	United States Capitol	Washington	DC	William Thornton	1793–1962	Neoclassical
7	Lincoln Memorial	Washington	DC	Henry Bacon	1914–22	Greek Revival
8				Richard Morris Hunt Frederick Law Olmsted	1889–95
9	Chrysler Building	New York	NY	William Van Alen	1928–30	Art Deco
10	Vietnam Veterans Memorial	Washington	DC	Maya Lin	1982	Modern
11	St. Patrick's Cathedral	New York	NY	James Renwick	1858–78	Gothic Revival
12	Washington Monument	Washington	DC	Robert Mills	1848–54	Egyptian Revival
13	Grand Central Terminal	New York	NY	Reed and Stem Warren and Wetmore	1903–13	Beaux-Arts
14	Gateway Arch	St. Louis	MO	Eero Saarinen	1963–65	Modern
15	Supreme Court of the United States	Washington	DC	Cass Gilbert	1932–35	Neoclassical
16	St. Regis	New York	NY	Trowbridge & Livingston	1904	Beaux-Arts
17	Metropolitan Museum of Art	New York	NY	Calvert Vaux McKim, Mead & White; Richard Morris Hunt; Kevin Roche; John Dinkeloo	1895– 2012	Beaux-Arts
18	Hotel Del Coronado	Coronado	CA	James W. Reid	1888	Victorian
19	World Trade Center (original towers)	New York	NY	Minoru Yamasaki	1966–75	Modern
20	Brooklyn Bridge	New York	NY	John Augustus Roebling	1869-83	Gothic Revival
21	Philadelphia City Hall	Philadelphia	PA	John McArthur Jr.	1871–1901	Second Empire
22	Bellagio Hotel and Casino	Las Vegas	NV	Deruyter Butler Atlandia Design	1995–98	Italianate
23	Cathedral of St. John the Divine	New York	NY	Heins & La Farge Ralph Adams Cram	1892–1911	Gothic Revival
24	Philadelphia Museum of Art	Philadelphia	PA	Horace Trumbauer, Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary	1919–28	Neoclassical
25	Trinity Church	Boston	MA	Henry Hobson Richardson	1872–77	Richardsonian Romanesque
26	Ahwahnee Hotel	Yosemite Valley	CA	Gilbert Stanley Underwood	1926–27	National Park Service Rustic
27	Monticello	Charlottesville	VA	Thomas Jefferson	1768–1826	Georgian
28	Library of Congress	Washington	DC	John L. Smithmeyer and Paul J. Pelz	1890–97	Beaux-Arts
29				Frank Lloyd Wright	1936–39
30	Taliesin	Spring Green	WI	Frank Lloyd Wright	1911–59	Prairie School
31	Wrigley Field	Chicago	IL	Zachary Taylor Davis	1911–14	Jewel Box Stadium
32	Wanamaker's Department Store	Philadelphia	PA	Daniel Burnham	1876	Neo-Renaissance
33				James Stewart Polshek	2000
34		Washington	DC	John Russell Pope	1938–41	Neoclassical
35	Allegheny County Courthouse	Pittsburgh	PA	Henry Hobson Richardson	1883–88	Richardsonian Romanesque
36	Old Faithful Inn	Yellowstone National Park	WY	Robert Reamer	1903–27	National Park Service Rustic
37	Washington Union Station	Washington	DC	Daniel Burnham	1908–89	Beaux-Arts
38	Tribune Tower	Chicago	IL	John Mead Howells Raymond Hood	1923–25	Gothic Revival
39	Delano Hotel	Miami Beach	FL	Robert Swartburg Philippe Starck (interior)	1947–94	Art Deco
40	Union Station	St. Louis	MO	Theodore C. Link	1892	Romanesque
41	Hearst Residence	San Simeon	CA	Julia Morgan	1919–1947	Spanish Revival
42	Willis (formerly Sears) Tower	Chicago	IL	Fazlur Rahman Khan Bruce Graham	1970–74	Modern
43	Thomas Crane Public Library	Quincy	MA	Henry Hobson Richardson	1881–82	Richardsonian Romanesque
44	Woolworth Building	New York	NY	Cass Gilbert	1910–12	Gothic Revival
45	Cincinnati Union Terminal	Cincinnati	OH	Fellheimer & Wagner	1928–33
46	Waldorf Astoria	New York	NY	Schultze & Weaver	1929–31	Art Deco
47	New York Public Library	New York	NY	Carrère and Hastings	1897–1911	Beaux-Arts
48	Carnegie Hall	New York	NY	William B. Tuthill Richard Morris Hunt and Dankmar Adler, consulting architects	1890–91
49	San Francisco City Hall	San Francisco	CA	Arthur Brown Jr.	1913–16	Beaux-Arts
50	Virginia State Capitol	Richmond	VA	Thomas Jefferson	1785–88	Neoclassical
51	Cadet Chapel, Air Force Academy	Colorado Springs	CO	Walter Netsch	1959–62	Futurist
52	Field Museum of Natural History	Chicago	IL	Daniel Burnham and Graham, Anderson, Probst and White	1915–21	Neoclassical
53	Apple, 5th Avenue	New York	NY	Bohlin Cywinski Jackson	2005–06	Structural Expressionist
54	Fisher Fine Arts Library	Philadelphia	PA	Frank Furness	1888–90	Victorian
55	Mauna Kea Beach Hotel	Kohala Coast	HI	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	1965	Modern
56	Rockefeller Center	New York	NY	Reinhard & Hofmeister, Corbett, Harrison & Macmurray, Raymond Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux	1930–39	Art Deco
57	Denver International Airport	Denver	CO	Fentress Bradburn Architects	1989–95	Postmodern
58	Ames Free Library	North Easton	MA	Henry Hobson Richardson	1877–79	Richardsonian Romanesque
59	Milwaukee Art Museum	Milwaukee	WI	Santiago Calatrava	1994–2001	Postmodern
60	Thorncrown Chapel	Eureka Springs	AR	E. Fay Jones	1980	Prairie School
61	Transamerica Pyramid	San Francisco	CA	William Pereira	1969–72	Modern
62	333 Wacker Drive	Chicago	IL	Kohn Pedersen Fox	1979–83	Modern
63	Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum	Washington	DC	Gyo Obata	1972–76	Modern
64	Faneuil Hall	Boston	MA	Benjamin Thompson	1740–42	Georgian
65	Crystal Cathedral	Garden Grove	CA	Philip Johnson	1977–80	Structural Expressionist / Postmodern
66	Gamble House	Pasadena	CA	Greene and Greene	1908–09	American Craftsman
67				Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue	1922–32
68	New York Times Building	New York	NY	Renzo Piano	2003–07	Structural Expressionist
69	Salt Lake City Public Library	Salt Lake City	UT	Moshe Safdie	2000–03	Structural Expressionist / Postmodern
70	Walt Disney World Dolphin and Swan Hotels	Lake Buena Vista	FL	Michael Graves	1987–88	Postmodern
71	Hearst Tower	New York	NY	Norman Foster	2003–06	Structural Expressionist
72				Daniel Burnham	1902
73	Lake Point Tower	Chicago	IL	Schipporeit and Heinrich	1965–68	Modern
74	Guggenheim Museum	New York	NY	Frank Lloyd Wright	1956–59	Modern
75	Union Station	Los Angeles	CA	The Parkinsons	1939	Spanish Revival
76	Willard Hotel	Washington	DC	Henry Janeway Hardenbergh	1901	Beaux-Arts
77	Sever Hall, Harvard University	Cambridge	MA	Henry Hobson Richardson	1878–80	Richardsonian Romanesque
78	Broadmoor Hotel	Colorado Springs	CO	Warren & Wetmore	1918	Spanish Revival
79	Ronald Reagan Building	Washington	DC	James Ingo Freed	1989–98	Postmodern, Neotraditional
80	Phillips Exeter Academy Library	Exeter	NH	Louis Kahn	1965–71	Modern
81	The Plaza Hotel	New York	NY	Henry J. Hardenbergh	1905–07	Beaux-Arts
82	Sofitel Chicago Water Tower	Chicago	IL	Jean-Paul Viguier	2002	Postmodern
83	Glessner House	Chicago	IL	Henry Hobson Richardson	1886–87	Richardsonian Romanesque
84	Yankee Stadium (1923) (demolished)	New York	NY	Osborn Architects & Engineers	1922–23	Jewel Box Stadium
85	Harold Washington Library	Chicago	IL	Hammond, Beeby and Babka	1988–91	Postmodern / Neotraditional
86	Lincoln Center	New York	NY	Wallace Harrison, Philip Johnson and others	1955–69	Modern
87	The Dakota Apartments	New York	NY	Henry Janeway Hardenbergh	1880–84	Neo-Renaissance
88	Art Institute of Chicago	Chicago	IL	Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge	1893	Beaux-Arts
89	Fairmont Hotel	San Francisco	CA	Reid & Reid	1907	Beaux-Arts
90	Boston Public Library	Boston	MA	Charles Follen McKim	1887–95	Renaissance Revival
91	Hollywood Bowl	Los Angeles	CA	Lloyd Wright	1929–2004	Expressionist
92	Texas State Capitol	Austin	TX	Elijah E. Myers	1885–88	Neo-Renaissance
93	Fontainebleau	Miami Beach	FL	Morris Lapidus	1954	Modern
94	Legal Research Building, University of Michigan	Ann Arbor	MI	York and Sawyer	1924–33	Gothic Revival
95	Getty Center	Los Angeles	CA	Richard Meier	1989–97	Modern
96	High Museum	Atlanta	GA	Richard Meier	1980–83	Modern
97	Federal Building and United States Courthouse	Central Islip	NY	Richard Meier	1996–2000	Modern
98	Humana Building	Louisville	KY	Michael Graves	1982–85	Postmodern
99				Frank Gehry	1999–2003
100	Radio City Music Hall	New York	NY	Edward Durell Stone	1931–32	Art Deco
101	Paul Brown Stadium	Cincinnati	OH	NBBJ	1998–2000
102	United Airlines Terminal 1, O'Hare Airport	Chicago	IL	Helmut Jahn	1985–87
103	Hyatt Regency Atlanta	Atlanta	GA	John C. Portman Jr.	1967
104	Oracle Park	San Francisco	CA	Populous	1997–2000	Retro-classical / Neotraditional
105	Time Warner Center	New York	NY	David Childs	2000–03
106	Washington Metro	Washington	DC	Harry Weese	1969–76	Brutalist
107	IDS Center (IDS Tower)	Minneapolis	MN	Philip Johnson	1969–72	Modern
108	Seattle Central Library	Seattle	WA	Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus	2002–04	Structural Expressionist / Deconstructivism
109	San Francisco Museum of Modern Art	San Francisco	CA	Mario Botta	1992–95
110	Chicago Union Station	Chicago	IL	Daniel Burnham and Graham, Anderson, Probst and White	1913–25
111	United Nations Headquarters	New York	NY	Wallace Harrison and others	1948–52	Modern
112	National Building Museum	Washington	DC	Montgomery C. Meigs	1882–87	Renaissance Revival
113	Fenway Park	Boston	MA	James E. McLaughlin	1911–12
114	Dana–Thomas House	Springfield	IL	Frank Lloyd Wright	1902–04
115	TWA Flight Center, JFK Airport	New York	NY	Eero Saarinen	1959–62	Modern / Expressionist
116	The Athenaeum	New Harmony	IN	Richard Meier	1979
117	Walker Art Center	Minneapolis	MN	Edward Larrabee Barnes Herzog & de Meuron	1969–71, 2005
118	American Airlines Center	Dallas	TX	David M. Schwarz	1991–2001	Neotraditional
119	Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa	Phoenix	AZ	Albert Chase McArthur with Frank Lloyd Wright consulting	1929
120	Richard J. Riordan Central Library	Los Angeles	CA	Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue	1926
121	San Francisco International Airport	San Francisco	CA	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Del Campo and Maru Architects, Michael Willis Architects	1995–2000
122	Camden Yards	Baltimore	MD	Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum	1989–92
123	Taliesin West	Scottsdale	AZ	Frank Lloyd Wright	1937
124	United States Holocaust Museum	Washington	DC	James Ingo Freed, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners	1988–93
125	Citicorp Center	New York	NY	Hugh Stubbins & Associates Emery Roth & Sons	1974–77
126	V. C. Morris Gift Shop	San Francisco	CA	Frank Lloyd Wright	1948	Organic
127	Union Station	Kansas City	MO	Jarvis Hunt	1914	Beaux-Arts architecture
128	Rookery Building	Chicago	IL	Burnham and Root	1888	Chicago school
129	Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art	Minneapolis	MN	Frank Gehry	1993	Postmodern / Deconstructivism
130	Douglas House	Harbor Springs	MI	Richard Meier	1965–67	Modern
131	Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House	Los Angeles	CA	Frank Lloyd Wright	1919–21
132	Pennzoil Place	Houston	TX	Philip Johnson	1976	Postmodern
133	Royalton Hotel	New York	NY	Rossiter & Wright Philippe Starck	1898, 1988	Neoclassical
134	Astrodome	Houston	TX	Hermon Lloyd & W. B. Morgan, and Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson	1962–65
135	T-Mobile Park	Seattle	WA		1997–99
136	Corning Museum of Glass	Corning	NY	Gunnar Birkerts	1976–1980	Modern
137	30th Street Station	Philadelphia	PA	Graham, Anderson, Probst and White	1927–33	Neoclassical
138	Robie House	Chicago	IL	Frank Lloyd Wright	1909–10
139	Williams (formerly Transco) Tower	Houston	TX	Philip Johnson	1981–83	Postmodern
140	Stahl House (Case Study House #22)	Los Angeles	CA	Pierre Koenig	1959–60	Mid-century modern
141	Apple, SoHo	New York	NY	Bohlin Cywinski Jackson	2002
142	John Hancock Tower	Boston	MA	Henry N. Cobb	1968–76
143	Pennsylvania Station (demolished)	New York	NY	McKim, Mead & White	1904–10
144	Hyatt Regency	San Francisco	CA	John Portman	1973	Postmodern
145	Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building	Chicago	IL	Louis Sullivan	1899	Chicago school
146	Museum of Modern Art	New York	NY	Philip Johnson	1939	International Style
147	Auditorium Building	Chicago	IL	Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan	1887–89	Chicago school
148	Brown Palace Hotel	Denver	CO	Frank Edbrooke	1892
149	Ingalls Rink, Yale University	New Haven	CT	Eero Saarinen	1953–58	Modern
150	Battle Hall, UT Austin	Austin	TX	Cass Gilbert	1911	Spanish-Mediterranean Revival

Criticisms

When it was released, critics observed that the list of "favorites" did not reflect the judgments of architectural "experts". Upon the list's release, AIA president R. K. Stewart acknowledged that the rankings did not represent architects' professional judgments, but instead reflected people's "emotional connections" to buildings.^[4] Buildings named by critics as being some that architects consider to be highly significant, but that did not achieve top 150 ranking in the public survey, included the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, designed by Louis Kahn; the Inland Steel and John Hancock buildings in Chicago; Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, designed by Eero Saarinen; and the Seagram Building in New York City, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.^{[4] [5]} John King of the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out that in 1991 the AIA had named Eero Saarinen's design for Dulles Airport as one of ten "all-time works of American architects." King noted that the public's ratings were based on seeing just one photo of each building, and pointed out that "There's more to architecture than a picture can convey."^[4]

Structures ranked below the top 150

The 98 buildings that were listed by architects as significant, but did not rank in the top 150 in the public vote, were:^[4]

• 860–880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments – Chicago, Illinois
• American Folk Art Museum – New York City
• Art & Architecture Building – Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
• Baker House – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Beinecke Rare Book Library – Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
• Beth Sholom Synagogue – Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
• Boston City Hall – Boston, Massachusetts
• Bradbury Building – Los Angeles, California
• Burton Barr Library – Phoenix Public Library, Phoenix, Arizona
• Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts – Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels – Los Angeles
• Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption – San Francisco
• CBS Headquarters/ Black Rock – New York City
• Yale Center for British Art/Museum of British Art – Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
• Chapel/W15 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Chapel of St. Ignatius – Seattle University, Seattle
• Crown Hall – Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago
• Dallas City Hall – Dallas, Texas
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport – Dallas, Texas
• M. H. de Young Memorial Museum – San Francisco
• Denver Art Museum – Denver, Colorado
• Denver Public Library – Denver, Colorado
• Eames House – Pacific Palisades, California
• Ennis House/Ennis-Brown House – Los Angeles
• Esherick House – Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
• Experience Music Project – Seattle
• Farnsworth House – Plano, Illinois
• First Christian Church – Columbus, Indiana
• First Church of Christ Scientist – Berkeley, California
• First Unitarian Church of Rochester – Rochester, New York
• Ford Foundation Building – New York City
• Frank Gehry Residence – Santa Monica, California
• Freer Gallery of Art – Washington, DC
• Genzyme Center – Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Gropius House – Lincoln, Massachusetts
• Guaranty Building – Buffalo, New York
• Horton Plaza – San Diego
• IBM Building – Chicago
• Inland Steel Building – Chicago
• Jacobs Field – Cleveland, Ohio
• John Deere World Headquarters – Moline, Illinois
• John Hancock Center – Chicago
• Johnson Wax Building – Racine, Wisconsin
• Kaufmann Desert House – Palm Springs, California
• Kimbell Art Museum – Fort Worth, Texas
• Kings Road House – West Hollywood, California
• Larkin Administration Building – Buffalo, New York
• Lever House – New York City
• Lovell Beach House – Newport Beach, California
• R. H. Macy and Company Store (building) – New York City
• Marin County Civic Center – San Rafael, California
• Marshall Field and Company Building – Chicago
• Menil Collection – Houston, Texas
• Minneapolis Central Library – Minneapolis
• Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth – Fort Worth, Texas
• Monadnock Building – Chicago
• Morgan Library & Museum – New York City
• Mount Angel Library – Mount Angel, Oregon
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
• Nasher Sculpture Center – Dallas
• National Gallery of Art (East Wing) – Washington, DC
• North Christian Church – Columbus, Indiana
• Oakland Museum of California – Oakland, California
• O'Hare International Airport – Chicago
• Peabody Terrace – Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Petco Park (San Diego Padres) – San Diego
• Philadelphia Savings Fund Society Building/PSFS – Philadelphia
• Philip Johnson's Glass House – New Canaan, Connecticut
• Prada – Los Angeles
• Prada – 575 Broadway, New York City
• Price Tower – Bartlesville, Oklahoma
• Rachofsky House – Dallas, Texas
• REI Flagship Store, Seattle
• Reliance Building – Chicago
• Richards Medical Research Laboratories – Philadelphia
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport – Arlington, Virginia
• Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art – Cincinnati
• Salk Institute – La Jolla, California
• San Francisco Public Library – San Francisco
• Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse – Phoenix, Arizona
• Seagram's Building – New York City
• Frederick J. Smith House – Darien, Connecticut
• Soldier Field – Chicago
• Sony Plaza (AT&T Corporate Headquarters) – New York City
• Staples Center – Los Angeles
• Superdome – New Orleans
• Tiffany and Company Building – New York City
• Unity Temple – Oak Park, Illinois
• University of Phoenix Stadium (Arizona Cardinals Stadium) – Glendale, Arizona
• Vanna Venturi House – Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania
• Wainwright Building – St. Louis, Missouri
• Washington Dulles International Airport – Chantilly, Virginia
• Wexner Center for the Arts – Ohio State University – Columbus, Ohio
• Whitney Museum – New York City
• William J. Clinton Presidential Library – Little Rock, Arkansas

See also

• Architecture of the United States

External links

• FavoriteArchitecture.org (Flash-based interactive photo exhibit of the listed buildings)
• AIA 150, NPR.org (text-based list)
• Americans' Favorite Buildings, The Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2007 (illustrated sortable list)
• America's Favorite Architecture on AIA Archiblog

Notes and References

1. American Institute of Architects, "About this Exhibit", FavoriteArchitecture.org website
2. http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=5896 American Institute of Architects Releases Poll Showing "America's Favorite Architecture"
3. American Institute of Architects, FavoriteArchitecture.org website
4. John King, "When it comes to the tops in architecture, it's all about how it makes people feel", San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 2007
5. Alex Frangos, "Americans' Favorite Buildings", The Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2007