Looking north from Tenth Street at the impressive skyline of Minneapolis, commercial, financial and educational center of the Northwest.
Designed by Rhodes Robertson, construction began on the Northwestern Bell Telephone Building in 1930. The tower was clad in limestone from Kasota and granite exterior from Morton, Minnesota. 755 windows were trimmed with steel and cast aluminum, doors are bronze and the first floor is graced with marble walls. Exterior details include electric bolts and a stylized thunder bird above the main entrance. During construction, a 1920s Northwestern Bell building on the site was stripped and the steel frame was incorporated into the new structure. When it was completed in 1932, the 26 story telephone building was the second highest skyscraper in the city.
When it was completed in 1929, the 27-story Rand Tower was one of the Mill City’s tallest buildings. The art deco skyscraper designed by the architectural firm of Holabird and Root was named for World War I flying ace, Rufus R. Rand. The lobby and hallways are decorated in marble, glass, nickel, and vividly colored enamel. The interior floors feature star and moon designs.
The Medical Arts Building is the tallest neo-gothic sky scratcher in Minneapolis. The building also boasts the highest terra-cotta facade in town. The 19 story tower, designed by Long & Thorshov, is an addition to the 10-story Nicollet Avenue section, which stands 140 feet. The lobby interior’s ‘Marble Faux’ was created by painter Robert Bonawitz. The building was completed in 1924.
The Northwestern Bank Building, completed in 1930, at a cost of $6,000,000, occupied the space between Sixth and Seventh Streets on Marquette Avenue and extended 132 feet towards Nicollet Avenue. From 1949 until a terrible fire on Thanksgiving Day in 1982, the building was adorned with the infamous, color color changing,’weatherball’. The device lit up at all hours and forecasting the weather for an entire generation down below.
Completed in 1929, the Foshay Tower was the first skyscraper in Minneapolis the tallest building in town until 1971. The Art Deco building modeled on the Washington Monument was the creation of multimillionaire, Wilbur B. Foshay. A real estate developer who prospered in the public utilities business, Foshay lost his fortune in the 1929 stock market crash. Built of fabricated steel, hot-riveted with reinforced concrete, the 447-foot tower is faced with Indiana limestone.