Ohio family builds 50,000-pound Stargate to ‘scan the cosmos’
In Ashland County, Ohio, one family has a unique landmark on their property: a 50,000-pound concrete replica of the Stargate, inspired by the popular sci-fi franchise.
unbranded – Newsworthy
Akron’s former courthouse and a longstanding administration building in Dayton were among the ugliest in the country.The list of the 100 ugliest buildings included many courthouses and other government structures.
Ohio has many titles, including Ohio State as college football national champions, being home to some of the nation’s wealthiest suburbs, and … having some of the ugliest public buildings?
An online survey from a New Jersey branch of the real estate company RE/MAX that garnered more than 3,000 responses determined the 100 ugliest public buildings in the United States.
Two Ohio buildings made the Top 15 of the worst-looking and unsightly structures. Here they are.
Akron Municipal Court ranked No. 6 in nation’s ugliest buildings survey
Topping Ohio’s ugliest public buildings is Akron Municipal Court, which takes the No. 6 spot nationwide. It’s been a couple of years since the municipal court moved from its former home at the Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center (where the court held hearings since 1966) to a different location a block away. However, the original building bears a unique design that, according to the survey, leaves much to be desired.
Montgomery County Administration Building in Dayton is No. 13 ugliest building in U.S.
Just a few spots behind Akron’s former courthouse is the Montgomery County Administration Building in Dayton. The vertically-lined structure was built in the early 1970s.
While deemed ugly by the RE/MAX ratings, it represents a vintage style. Spanning 12 floors, the Montgomery County Administration Building is one of the tallest in Dayton at 196 feet, according to WorldAtlas.
Top 15 ugliest public buildings in the U.S.City of Flint Municipal Center (Flint, Michigan)Fresno County Superior Court (Fresno, California)Buffalo City Court (Buffalo, New York)Jackson County Courts Building (Pascagoula, Mississippi)Philadelphia Municipal Services Building (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)Akron Municipal Court (Akron, Ohio)Atlantic City Municipal Court (Atlantic City, New Jersey)Bentonville Public Works Maintenance Facility (Bentonville, Arkansas)Tuscaloosa County Public Works Building (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)El Paso County Court Administration Building (El Paso, Texas)Boston Government Center Complex (Boston)Bridgeport Police Headquarters (Bridgeport, Connecticut)Montgomery County Administration Building (Dayton, Ohio)Modesto City Hall (Modesto, California)North Las Vegas Municipal Court (North Las Vegas)Why do Akron, Dayton have the ‘ugliest’ buildings? See methodology
The ugliest public buildings were determined using an online panel survey of 3,003 respondents based on age, gender and geographic location. According to RE/MAX, internal data sources were used to obtain population data sets, and the team used a two-step method for the July 2025 study.