Most people consider the 555 foot tall Washington Monument to be DC’s tallest tower. It’s certainly the city’s most iconic. But it’s not the tallest. That distinction belongs to the 761 foot tall Hughes Tower.

Hughes Tower. Photo by thebrightwoodian on Flickr.

Hughes Tower is in Brightwood, near the corner of Georgia Avenue and Peabody Street NW. It’s primarily a radio transmission tower, broadcasting signals for the Metropolitan Police Department.

The tower is owned by the District of Columbia, and was built in 1989.

Although the tower vastly overshoots DC’s usual height limit, transmission towers are one of several exempted categories of structures. Thus, a 761-foot tower doesn’t necessarily violate federal law, though DC’s zoning code imposes other limits that prevent anyone from just building such a tower. The National Capital Planning Commission also wasn’t happy about this one.

 Cross-posted at Greater Greater Washington.