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street, as designated by schedule approved by the
Commissioners of the District of Columbia, except on business streets and business avenues one hundred and sixty feet wide, where a height not exceeding one hundred and thirty feet may be allowed. The height of buildings on corner lots shall in all cases be regulated by the limitations governing on the broader street: Provided That spires, towers, and domes may be erected to a greater height than the limit herein prescribed, when approved by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia: Provided further, That on streets less than ninety feet wide, where building lines have been established so as to be a matter of public record and so as to prevent the lawful erection of any building in advance of said lines, the width of the street, in so far as it controls the height of buildings under this law, may be held to be the distance between said building lines.
31:
58:, felt that the new technology was untested and steel-framed structures may suffer "serious and fatal defects" due to corrosion from steam pipes and electrical wiring – another relatively recent advancement. They believed that these new tall buildings would ultimately collapse. In an 1899 Senatorial Report, Senator Warren Curtis speculated that, "the life of these structures might not be more than seventy-five years."
85:
SEC. 1. That from and after the date of the approval of this Act no combustible or nonfireproof building intended to be used or occupied as a residence or as an apartment house or hotel in the
District of Columbia shall be erected to a height of more than five stories or raised to a height exceeding
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SEC. 3. That all buildings, except churches, hereafter erected or altered to exceed seventy-five feet in height shall be fireproof or noncombustible and of such materials throughout as may be prescribed by the
Commissioners of the District of Columbia. Churches must be of fireproof construction up
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SEC. 4. That no building shall be erected or altered on any street in the
District of Columbia to exceed in height above the sidewalk the width of the street in its front, and in no case shall a building exceed ninety feet in height on a residence street nor one hundred and ten feet on a business
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presented a new fire hazard. In his report, Senator Curtis wrote that, "It would seem that the fire chiefs in the large cities who have had experience with high buildings are agreed that it is absolutely impossible for them to successfully fight flames over 85 feet (26 m) above the ground with the
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SEC.6. That the height of all buildings shall be measured from the level of the sidewalk opposite the middle of the front of the building to the highest point of the roof; if the building has more than one front the measurement shall be made upon the front facing the street of steepest grade. No
216:. In fact, the 1899 law set the maximum height of any building to 130 feet (39.6 m), the height limit that firefighting equipment could effectively reach at the time, and not the 289 feet (88 m) of the Capitol building. Articles repeating the myth include one in
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Structural corrosion and limitations of inadequate firefighting equipment are less of a concern today than at the turn of the century, and many major U.S. cities updated their zoning laws to reflect advancements in building technology. For example, the
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approved the Act to
Regulate the Height of Buildings in the District of Columbia, or more commonly referred to as the Height of Buildings Act of 1899. The law limited the heights of new buildings based on building use and type of construction:
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Another concern was the difficulty of extinguishing fires in the upper floors of tall buildings. At the time, firefighting equipment had been designed to fight flames primarily in low-rise buildings. The growing popularity of
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in 2012. A 2009 article suggested that the 1899 act "established that no building could be taller than the
Capitol" but that the 1910 act further restricted heights to 20 feet above the width of the adjacent street.
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285:"The McMillan Commission", Building Height Limitations: Staff Report for the Committee on the District of Columbia, House of Representatives, 94th Congress, 2nd Session (April 1, 1976)
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SEC. 5. That no wooden or frame building hereafter erected or altered and intended to be used for human habitations shall exceed in height three stories, or forty feet to the roof.
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54:, along with thin veneer facades, which made it possible to build lighter, and consequently much taller buildings. Residents of densely populated cities, including
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subsequent zoning laws followed the precedent set by the 1899 Act, and limited buildings to lower heights. As a result, the skyline of
Washington D.C. lacks
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used a Floor Area Ratio, rather than a height restriction, and allowed for taller buildings when an adjacent public space was provided on the site. Yet, in
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SEC. 2. That buildings intended for business purposes solely may be erected to a height of seventy-five feet without being of fireproof construction.
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fire apparatus now manufactured, as the pressure is so great that no hose now made can stand the strain and the men are unable to handle the hose."
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250:, or the height of its dome. None of the related House and Senate bills, or the Height Act itself made any mention of the Capitol building.
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280:"The Height of Buildings Act of 1899" - An Act to regulate height of buildings in the District of Columbia (1899) P.L. 55-322
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A Bill to regulate the height of residences in the city of
Washington, H.R. 10430, 55th Congress, 2nd Session (May 23, 1898)
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A Bill to regulate the height of residences in the city of
Washington, H.R. 10430, 55th Congress, 2nd Session (May 23, 1898)
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613:
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A Bill to regulate the height of buildings in the
District of Columbia, S. 4898, 55th Congress, 3rd Session (Dec. 7, 1898)
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A Bill to regulate the height of buildings in the District of Columbia, S. 4898, 55th Congress, 3rd Session (Dec. 7, 1898)
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States Of America in Congress assembled,
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SEC. 7. That the limitations of height herein prescribed shall not apply to Federal or municipal buildings.
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in response to advancements in construction technology, specifically the use of iron and
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An Act to regulate height of buildings in the District of Columbia (1899), P.L. 55-322
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sixty feet above the sidewalk, the measurement to be made as hereinafter prescribed.
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The Height of Buildings Act of 1899 (National Archives and Records Administration)
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House of Representatives Report 1704, 55th Congress, 3rd Session (Dec. 20, 1898)
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SEC. 8. That Congress reserves the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act.
434:"Let D.C.'s Buildings Grow: The case for scrapping Washington's height act"
307:. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 12.
347:"An Act to regulate height of buildings in the District of Columbia"
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are currently, or were at one time, restricted to the height of the
305:
Skyscrapers: A Social History of the Very Tall Building In America
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Senatorial Report 1532, 55th Congress, 3rd Session (Jan. 26, 1899)
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403:"Congress considers lifting height limits on District buildings"
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to restrict the height of buildings was debated on the floor of
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The original law limited buildings to the height of the Capitol
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The Height of Buildings Act of 1899 was later amended by the
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H.R. Rep. 1704, 55th Congress, 3rd Session (Dec 20, 1898)
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S. Rep. 1532, 55th Congress, 3rd Session (Jan. 26, 1899)
533:"Vantage Point: The Curse of (Certain) Tall Buildings"
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parapet wall shall extend above the limit of height.
461:"Congress Takes a New Look at Low-Slung Washington"
238:Report from the following year, show that when the
70:In response to these concerns, on March 1, 1899,
535:. The American Surveyor Magazine. Archived from
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105:to and including the main or auditorium floor.
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234:Report from December 1898, along with the
654:United States federal housing legislation
376:"NYC Zoning - About Zoning, background"
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200:The Height-of-the-Capitol-Building Myth
639:Real property law in the United States
374:New York City, Dept of City Planning.
471:from the original on 5 September 2012
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440:from the original on 8 December 2020
432:DePillis, Lydia (17 December 2010).
182:1961 New York City zoning resolution
629:Urban planning in the United States
560:"DC Mythbusting: The Height Limit!"
18:The Height of Buildings Act of 1899
413:from the original on 11 March 2016
246:, no mention had been made of the
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502:Grunwald, Michael (2 July 2006).
27:US federal law for Washington, DC
174:Height of Buildings Act of 1910
40:Height of Buildings Act of 1899
459:Berg, Rebecca (20 July 2012).
401:Pershing, Ben (19 July 2012).
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436:. Washingtonian City Paper.
208:holds that the buildings in
624:Zoning in the United States
303:Douglas, George H. (1996).
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378:. NYC.gov. Archived from
644:1899 in Washington, D.C.
619:District of Columbia law
504:"D.C.'s Fear of Heights"
232:House of Representatives
558:Shannon (19 May 2009).
467:. The New York Times.
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72:United States Congress
44:height restriction law
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634:United States Capitol
248:U.S. Capitol building
224:The American Surveyor
214:U.S. Capitol building
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614:1899 in American law
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222:in 2006, and one in
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409:. Washington Post.
219:The Washington Post
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608:Categories
566:8 December
513:8 December
475:10 January
444:10 January
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359:10 January
291:References
206:urban myth
469:Archived
465:Politics
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350:(PDF)
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