Built: 1976 Architect: Freerks, Sperl Flynn Architects; interior renovation in 2018 by 292 Design Group This is the second YWCA building on the site; the previous building was built in 1929 and demolished in 1975 to make way for this building. The…

Architect: Gunnar Birkerts & Associates, 1972 Renovation and addition by Walsh Bishop Associates, 2002 Built in 1972 and originally designed to house the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, this building began as an experiment in…

The first Chicago Milwaukee Saint Paul and Pacific Depot, Freight House, and Train Shed (Washington Avenue and Third Avenue South) were built around 1879, although the Freight House is the only remaining property today. The original station was razed…

Look closely at this structure and you will find that it is actually two buildings, one with 6 floors, the other with 7. You will also notice different terracotta signs and medallions. The nameplate on the building to the southwest (on your left as…

Architect: Cesar Pelli Associates (New Haven, Connecticut) with Architectural Alliance (Minneapolis), 2006 Landscape design: Coen and Partners Some library consultants recommend that library buildings have no permanent interior walls so they can…

350 S 5th St. Long and Kees Richardsonian Romanesque Minneapolis City Hall was built to serve as the governmental offices for both the city of Minneapolis and Hennepin County and is overseen by the Municipal Building Commission. An earlier City…

10 S 5th St. Long & Kees Richardsonian Romanesque As the booming lumbering industry began to drive the state’s economic engine, the Lumber Exchange Building was constructed in 1885 to house both the local and out-of-state trading distributors.…

Architects: Long & Long, 1898 Renovation by Miller, Hanson, Westerbeck & Bell, 1983 The original name of Renaissance Square was the Andrus Building. It was named for one of the richest men in the world: New Yorker John Emory Andrus, who…

527 Marquette Avenue Holabird and Root Streamline Moderne - Art Deco Rand Tower is the ambitious project of Minnesota aviation pioneer Rufus R. Rand. Rand, a family member of The Minneapolis Gas Company, served in WWI as a pilot and once back…

Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank 88 South 6th St 1941, addition in 1963 McEnary & Krafft Art Moderne The Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank was built as a solution to the bank’s growing demand for space following a nationwide rise in the…

Architect: Charles S. Sedgwick, 1902 Additions by Long and Thorshov, 1916-1929, and Larson and McLaren, 1937 & 1947 George Draper Dayton built the 6-story department store on the corner of 7th and Nicollet. The store replaced the first…

Original design by Lawrence Halprin and Associates, 1967 1990 renovation by BRW Architects 2017 renovation by James Corner Field Operations Nicollet Avenue has been Minneapolis’ main shopping street for more than 100 years. The street, along with…

Architects: Philip Johnson and John Burgee (New York City) with Edward Baker (Minneapolis), 1972 Renovation of Crystal Court by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, 1998 The IDS Center includes the Marquette Hotel, an annex on Marquette Avenue, a 2-story…

Architects: Long and Thorshov, 1923 Addition by Long and Thorshov, 1929 Renovation by Shea Architects, 1993 The Medical Arts Building is sheathed in bright white terra cotta. “Terra cotta” translates from Latin as “baked earth,” and that’s exactly…

Foshay Tower (now a hotel called The W Minneapolis-The Foshay) 821-37 Marquette Avenue The Foshay Tower, constructed in 1929, is an iconic symbol of economic development in Minneapolis at the height of the roaring twenties. Until 1973, the…

Architects: Frederick Ackerman (New York) with Magney & Tusler (Minneapolis), 1926 Renovation and restoration by Ellerbe Becket, 1989 A reviewer called this “one of the most beautiful store buildings in the world.” It was the realization of the…

Peavey Plaza 1100 Marquette Avenue Landscape Architect: M. Paul Friedberg (New York City), 1975 Peavey Plaza was an instant hit. Downtown workers on lunch break and children of all ages enjoyed its water works and multiple subterranean levels. Its…

The Lafayette Building is a perfect architectural translation of the Roaring 20s — a fun-loving, ostentatious bauble of a building that looks like a birthday cake. But don’t try taking a bite out of it; the building’s exterior is covered with…

Architects: Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (New York City) with Hammel Green & Abrahamson (Minneapolis) and acoustical engineer Cyril Harris (New York City), 1974 First renovation by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, 1997 Second renovation…

Architects: Charles S. Sedgwick & Warren H. Hayes, 1897 1911: Kindergarten room by Purcell, Feick & Elmslie (demolished). 1937 addition: great hall, hallway, and chapel 1980s addition: offices on south side 2002 addition: Wing on…

Architect: M. Paul Friedberg and Associates, 1976 By the 1960s, the once fashionable Loring Park area had become run down. In response, both the Minneapolis City Council and the Downtown Council (a business leaders’ group) put forward plans in the…