For being one of the biggest cities in the United States, Phoenix certainly has an unremarkable skyline.
Part of it may be due to height -- Phoenix's tallest building, Chase Tower, is still about 250 feet shorter than the 100th-tallest building in the country; cities like Mobile, Alabama, and Jersey City, New Jersey, have buildings taller than Phoenix's tallest. Of the taller buildings Phoenix does have, some of them are just plain ugly. Check out our picks for the 10 ugliest skyscrapers in Phoenix:
10.) Phoenix Plaza
Floors: 20
The building's not all that bad, the problem is, there are two of them, at Central Avenue and Thomas Road. This rendering is of Phoenix Plaza Tower Two.
9.) Two Arizona Center
Floors: 20
This building, at Fifth Street and Van Buren (which has the APS logo at the top), isn't all that bad, but it has a much better-looking neighbor -- One Arizona Center.
8.) 2600 Tower
Floors: 21
Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't get too creative. At Central and Virginia avenues.
7.) 4000 North Central Avenue
Floors: 23
A building so ugly they didn't even name it. At Central and Claredon avenues.
6.) Great American Tower
Floors: 24
Just like Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati has the nickname of "Okay American Ballpark," a more suitable name for this building would be the "Okay American Building."
5.) Quest Tower
Floors: 25
This architect appears to have been inspired by
Charlie Brown's shirt. This one's located next to the Phoenix Plaza twins, at Central Avenue and Thomas Road.
4.) The Summit at Copper Square
Floors: 22
Nothing wrong with the shape of the building, but what's up with the color scheme of this thing, at Fourth Street and Jackson? You can't see it from the angle above, but on the south side of the building, there's a golden-yellow skid-mark that runs the length of the building. Why not a splash of lime green while we're at it?
3.) Sheraton Phoenix Downtown
Floors: 31
You're probably thinking that the tallest hotel in Arizona was probably pretty stylish back in 1979. Nope, this thing, at Third Street and Van Buren, just opened less than six years ago.
2.) US Bank Center
Floors: 31
Nothing says "built by corporate America" quite like this bad-boy, at First Avenue and Adams. This building, the second tallest in Phoenix, is surrounded by much better-looking buildings. Across First Avenue is the historic Art Deco-style Title and Trust Building (now the Orpheum Lofts), and another Art Deco building, the Professional Building, is behind it, across Central Avenue. Across Adams Street are the two modern buildings at Renaissance Square, and across Monroe Street is 44 Monroe, another tall, modern building.
1.) The Wells Fargo Building
Floors: 27
Ingredients: Concrete, windows. If it weren't for those windows, this thing would just look like a 27-story-high extension of the sidewalk. Seriously, here's an image from Google Maps' Street View:
Ugly.
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