The ‘Eyesore’ of the Boardwalk: This NJ Building Just Made the Ugly List

New Jersey’s skyline is a patchwork quilt: Victorian porches watching over beach blocks, brick main streets stitched through old mill towns, glass spires rising over the Hudson.

When a single building jars that fabric, we all feel it. That’s why the recent buzz around the Atlantic City Municipal Court building, now widely talked about as the ugliest building in New Jersey, hits a nerve.

How One New Jersey Building Ended Up on America’s “Ugliest” List

How did it get that name, the ugliest building in New Jersey and it just made America's "ugliest list?" Recently, Remax put out a list of "The 100 Ugliest Public Buildings in the U.S." Atlantic City Municipal Court building made the list, according to locals.

Get our free mobile app

It’s not just an aesthetic gripe. It’s a reminder that architecture, good or bad, shapes how we live, how we feel about a place, and whether we want to invest our time—and our dollars—there.

Why Design Matters: When Civic Buildings Push People Away

The court building is a fortress of hard edges—boxy, and heavy.  It reads more like a bunker than a civic space. Long, blank walls starve the street of windows. A top-heavy massing looms instead of inviting.

Of course, not every public building has to be flashy. But civic architecture should do at least two things well: serve its function and signal that the public is welcome. When a courthouse looks impenetrable, it subtly teaches people that government is distant—especially in a place where confidence in institutions is already fragile. Architecture can either extend a hand or build a wall. This one chose the wall.

However, I've never been to this building but from the looks of it, it doesn't look as bad as some of the buildings in New Jersey, but locals chose this one for some reason. Personally, I've seen worse in New Jersey.

“Ugly” sounds subjective, but communities tend to agree on a few fundamentals of what makes buildings feel hostile:

• Scale Without Sympathy: When a building is out of proportion—too tall, too wide, or just too monotonous—it crushes the human experience at sidewalk level.

Over time, property values stagnate. The intangible—pride—erodes.

The city can’t afford dead zones. Every corner near the tourism core needs to be legible, safe, and welcoming.

Atlantic City’s Lesson: Buildings Should Invite, Not Intimidate

Call it a lesson from Atlantic City: when buildings speak, people listen. Let’s make sure they’re saying, “Welcome.”