The ugliest building in every US state, according to people who live there

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The Apex Building in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. FLY R.I./YouTube

Architecture is a form of art. When a city constructs a new building, it should add beauty to its streetscape.

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But that doesn't always happen. Every town across the United States likely has a tower, a government complex, or an office building that residents wish never went up.

Business Insider asked readers to name the one architectural eyesore they loathe in their state. Responses ranged from a building that looks like a giant wooden basket to a hotel painted solid gold.

The most unpopular buildings — two that were named by nearly a dozen readers — were Boston's City Hall, a concrete structure that one person described as "depressing," and Manhattan's 432 Park Avenue, a skyscraper that another reader said resembles "a very tall trashcan."

Here are the ugliest buildings in every US state, plus Washington, DC:

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Alabama — The Government Plaza in Mobile

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The Government Plaza. Wikipedia Commons/Altairisfar

Alaska — The Westmark Hotel in Anchorage

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The Westmark Hotel. Alaska.com
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Arizona — The City Hall of Tempe

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City Hall. Wikipedia Commons/Daderot

Dishonorable mentions: The Century Link Tower and BMO Tower in Phoenix

Arkansas — The John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building in Fayetteville

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The John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building. Wikipedia Commons/Brandonrush
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California — A KFC in Los Angeles

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KFC. Wikipedia Commons/Carol M Highsmith

One reader who lives three blocks away said, "It’s ugly, but it gives our neighborhood flavor."

Dishonorable mentions: The 8500 Melrose mini-mall in LA; the Ziggurat in Sacramento; the Naval Base in Coronado; Pinnacle Park in San Diego

Colorado — The Denver International Airport

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Denver International Airport. Fly Denver

Dishonorable mention: The Beauvallon Condos in Denver and the Denver Art Museum

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Connecticut — The Pirelli Building in New Haven

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The Pirelli Building. Wikipedia Commons/Gunnar Klack

Dishonorable mentions: The Lazrus House at Connecticut College in New London; the Bridgeport Center in Bridgeport

Delaware — The Rollins Building Heliport in Wilmington

Rollins Building and Fairfax Shopping Center - Wilmington, Delaware
The Rollins Building Heliport. YouTube/ DDVF
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District of Columbia — The Watergate complex

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The Watergate complex. Wikipedia Commons/Indutiomarus

One reader called the complex "Washington, DC's white whale."

Dishonorable mention: The Georgetown University Library

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Florida — The Majesty Building in Altamonte Springs

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The Majesty Building. Wikipedia Commons/Christine Van Assche

Locals call the Majesty Building the "I-4 eyesore."

Dishonorable mentions: The Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee; the Wells Fargo Center in Jacksonville

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Georgia — The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta

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The Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Hawaii — The Grand Waikikian Hotel in Honolulu

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The Grand Waikikian Hotel. Amoma
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Idaho — The Zions Bank Building in Boise

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The Zions Bank Building. SniperProgrammer/Wikipedia Commons
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Illinois — The Thompson Center in Chicago

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The Thompson Center. Flickr/Ken Lund

The building is "a point of contention for many Chicagoans," a reader said.

Dishonorable mentions: The Northwestern University Library in Evanston; the Marina Towers in Chicago

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Indiana — The Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend

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The Hesburgh Library. Hesburgh Library

Iowa — The English-Philosophy Building at the University of Iowa in Iowa City

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English-Philosophy Building. The University of Iowa

Dishonorable mention: The Boyd Law Building at the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City

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Kansas — An old warehouse on 101 North Kansas Avenue in Topeka

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101 North Kansas Avenue. Google Street View/Screenshot
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Kentucky — The Kaden Tower in suburban Louisville

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The Kaden Tower. Mapio.net

Frank Lloyd Wright's protégé and son-in-law William Wesley Peters "gifted this monstrosity to Louisville," one reader said.

Dishonorable mention: The Mercer Tower in Louisville

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Louisiana — The Health Sciences Center at Louisiana State University in Shreveport

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The Health Sciences Center. LSU

Maine — The School of Law Building at the University of Maine in Portland

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The School of Law Building. The University of Maine

It looks like a "deconstructed water tower. It literally even has the rusty ladder," said a reader.

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Maryland — The US Census Bureau in Suitland

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The US Census Bureau. HKS Architects

"The way CENSUS is written on it is VERY menacing. [There is] very bad energy coming from it," according to one reader.

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Massachusetts — Boston City Hall

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Boston City Hall Wikipedia Commons/Daniel Schwen

"Do you think they purposefully tried to match the colors from the background-left buildings and the middleground? That's my only explanation for that color combination," said one reader. "Barf."

Dishonorable mentions: Simmons Hall at MIT in Cambridge; the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield

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Michigan — The MotorCity Casino and Hotel in Detroit

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The MotorCity Casino and Hotel. World Architecture Communtiy

Dishonorable mentions: The Ypsilanti Water Tower in Ypsilanti; a warehouse on 909 Sheldon Road in Plymouth; the Cobo Center in Detroit

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Minnesota — The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis

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The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum. Flickr/Richie Diesterheft

"This one causes disorientation," said a reader.

Dishonorable mentions: The US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis; the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis

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Mississippi — The Gold Strike Casino Resort in Robinsonville

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The Gold Strike Casino Resort. The Gold Strike Casino Resort

Missouri — The St. Louis Compton Hill Water Tower

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The St. Louis Compton Hill Water Tower. Wikipedia Commons/Millbrooky
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Montana — The First Interstate Center in Missoula

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The First Interstate Center. CTA Group

Nebraska — The Mutual of Omaha Building

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The Mutual of Omaha Building. Wikipedia Commons/Shannon Ramos
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Nevada — The Neonopolis in Las Vegas

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The Neonopolis. Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Weekly

Dishonorable mention: The Veer Towers in Las Vegas

New Hampshire — The former Department of Employment Security Building in Concord

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The former Department of Employment Security Building. NHPR
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New Jersey — The American Dream Meadowlands Mall in East Rutherford

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The American Dream Meadowlands Mall. NJ.com

"I want to be at The American Dream's funeral," a reader said.

Dishonorable mention: The Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station in Secaucus

New Mexico — The New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe

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The New Mexico State Capitol. Ken Lund/Flickr
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New York — A tie between 432 Park Avenue, Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden in New York City

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Madison Square Garden/Penn Station (top) and 432 Park Avenue (bottom) in NYC Wikipedia Commons(user Jdh87)/432 Park Avenue

One reader called Penn Station and Madison Square Garden "the armpits of New York City." "Penn Station is ugly on a transcendent level," said another.

"I'm from a close suburb in New Jersey where we've always had beautiful skyline views. 432 Park ruined them completely," a reader said. Another said, "That building is my sworn enemy."

Dishonorable mentions: the Buffalo City Courthouse; the Central Warehouse in Albany; the Stony Brook Hospital at Stony Brook University; Haven Hall at Syracuse University in Syracuse; Bradfield Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca

North Carolina — The Biltmore Building in Asheville

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The Biltmore Building. Rockhounding Around
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North Dakota — The North Dakota State Capitol Building in Bismarck

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The North Dakota State Capitol Building. Wikipedia Commons/Bobak Ha'Eri

"The North Dakota State Capital Building in Bismarck is the least inspired building in America," a reader said.

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Ohio — The Longaberger headquarters in Newark

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The Longaberger headquarters. Wikipedia Commons/Derek Jensen

"It is abysmal," according to a reader.

Dishonorable mentions: The Peter B. Lewis Building at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland; Caples Hall at Kenyon College in Gambier

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Oklahoma — The Weokie Credit Union in Oklahoma City

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The Weokie Credit Union. Google Street View/Screenshot
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Oregon — The Portland Building in Portland

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The Portland Building in 1982. Wikipedia Commons/Steve Morgan

"Every Portlander's favorite example of a building to hate: The Portland Building," said one reader.

Dishonorable mention: The Prince Lucien Campbell Hall at the University of Oregon in Eugene

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Pennsylvania — The Aramark Tower in Philadelphia

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The Aramark Tower. Wikipedia Commons/Sbacle

Dishonorable mentions: The GSB Building in Bala Cynwyd; Wesley W. Posvar Hall at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh

Rhode Island — The Apex Building in Pawtucket

The Apex Building in Pawtucket
The Apex Building. FLY R.I./YouTube/Screenshot
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South Carolina — Holiday Inn Charleston-Riverview in Charleston

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Holiday Inn Charleston-Riverview. Holiday Inn

South Dakota — The Qwest Tower in Sioux Falls

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The Qwest Tower. Wikipedia Commons/AlexiusHoratius
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Tennessee — The AT&T Building in Nashville

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The AT&T Building. Wikipedia Commons/Kaldari
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Texas — The Alamodome in San Antonio

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The Alamodome. My San Antonio

According to one reader, "There are so many reasons the Alamodome, in my hometown of San Antonio, is awful ... But most of all, it is deeply, inscrutably ugly, with four gigantic pillars hoisting up the domed roof and making the thing look like a dead armadillo."

Dishonorable mention: The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio

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Utah — The Athletic Strength and Conditioning Center at Utah State University

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The Athletic Strength and Conditioning Center. AJC Architects

Vermont — Decker Towers in Burlington

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Decker Towers. Burlington Housing
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Virginia — The Tycon office building in Vienna

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The Tycon office. Google Street View/Screenshot

Locals call it "the toilet bowl building," a reader said.

Washington — The Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle

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The Museum of Pop Culture. Wikipedia Commons/Cacophony

"This looks like the final project of a freshman architecture student," according to one reader.

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West Virginia — The Bank of Mullens Building in Mullens

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The Bank of Mullens Building. Google Street View/Screenshot

Wisconsin — Van Vleck Hall at UW-Madison in Madison

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Van Vleck Hall at UW-Madison. UW-Madison

Dishonorable mention: The Humanities Building at UW-Madison in Madison

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Wyoming — The Dick Cheney Federal Building in Casper

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The Dick Cheney Federal Building. Wikipedia Commons
Design
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