Washington D.C. Building Heights Comparison - White - Etching Paper Print

When the twelve-story, 165' Cairo Hotel was built in 1894, the District of Columbia began to consider the impact such "skyscrapers" would have on the federal city's skyline. Within a few months of the hotel's construction, the board of commissioners passed regulations limiting the height of buildings to the width of the streets adjacent to them plus an additional 20' as measured from building line to building line. These regulations, which became the Building Height Limitation Act of 1910, set the maximum height of buildings along all streets and avenues at 130'. Most downtown streets are either 90' or 110' wide, with corresponding building height limits of 110' or 130'. Where a corner building has streets of different widths adjacent to it, the wider street may be used to determine the building height limit. With a few exceptions, building height regulations established early in the century have been maintained and continue to shape the district's skyline.