SkyScrapers Dot the Minneapolis Skyline

We do not get a chance to do an appraisal on Minneapolis’s many skyscrapers very often, but we have done a fair number of office building appraisals over the years. We recently wondered about how Minneapolis stacks up with other metro areas in the category of Skyscrapers and here is what we found out.

Minneapolis, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, is home to 258 completed high-rises,^[1] 39 of which stand taller than 300 feet (91 m). According to Wikipedia

According to Emporis.com, Minneapolis has the 16th most buildings over 300 feet in the US and ranks #91 in the world, just after Paris.

Minneapolis Skyline

The tallest building in Minneapolis and in Minnesota is the IDS tower. Built in 1973 it was designed by Philip Johnson. Measuring 792 feet, it has 57 floors.

That makes it the 54th tallest building in the United States and 266th in the World.

IDS Center

The runner up in Minneapolis is the Capella tower, originally known as First Bank Place. It was built in 1992 and edged out the 1988 built Wells Fargo Building by just one foot. 775 feet to 774.

Prior to the IDS building the Foshay tower held the tall building honors from 1929 to 1973. Designed to resemble the Washington Monument, it outsized its then nearest competitor the NW Bell or Phone Company building at 448 to 416 feet. Although a good portion of the now called Century Link building was added in 1958.

And before the Foshay was built, top honors went to the Minneapolis City Hall/Hennepin County Courthouse which reigned from 1895 to 1929.

The original “skyscraper” in the city was the Lumber Exchange Building built in 1886. This 12 story building is the oldest 12 story building outside of New York city.

At this time their are 8 new buildings in one stage of construction or another with an expected final height of 20 or more stories and/or a minimum of 300 feet.