Old Post Office clock tower and D.C. height limits

The Old Post Office's clock tower, completed in 1899, rises about 315 feet and remains one of Washington, D.C.'s most prominent vertical landmarks. The city’s relatively low skyline results from the federal Height of Buildings Act of 1910, which restricts building heights in most parts of D.C.; that law is a documented reason taller skyscrapers are uncommon in the city. The tower’s height and the height-limit law are recorded in architectural and legal sources.