James Monroe Building

View of the James Monroe building from the east. The right side of the large parking pedestal is where the second tower would have gone.

The James Monroe Building is a skyscraper located in Downtown Richmond, Virginia. It is the tallest building in Richmond at 137 meters (449 feet) and 29 floors. Only 25 of the floors, however, are actually occupyable as the top and middle two are maintenance floors. The building has a parking garage at its base and is located right next to Interstate 95. Completed in 1981, the James Monroe Building was intended to have a twin tower at the North end of its parking garage but the recession of the early 1980s ended the project. It was the tallest building in Virginia from 1981 to 2007 when it was surpassed by The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center & Residences in Virginia Beach. Although it is the tallest building in Richmond, its location at the bottom of a hill gives it the appearance of being roughly the same height as the rest of the Richmond skyline.