Downtown Minneapolis

[srsmn]

One of the things that I am reminded about in this thread is that Minneapolitans often complain about all of the great pre-War architecture that we have lost downtown, but we never talk about the great stuff that has been preserved. And I'm not just talking Foshay, Qwest, and Rand-- there are some really *awesome* office blocks and other short buildings that go back 80, 90, 100+ years and fill in the skyline nicely from street level.

We have (off the top of my head): Medical Arts, the old SOO Line building, the Post Office, the Gov't office building by Washington, the Grain, Flour, and Lumber Exchange Buildings, the Butler Block and Butler Building (which you can see on 2nd Ave. S in one of the pics), Macy's, Renaissance Square, the downtown Y, Hennepin Center for the Arts, Farmers' and Mechanics, and three old office buildings near the 5th street towers (also visible in a few of the pics).

It's nice to be reminded of Minneapolis's past from the ground level, even if most of these buildings don't even make a dent in the skyline. Granted, we don't have the same density of pre-War stuff that a lot of other cities enjoy, but we still have quite a few gems to appreciate among all the glass and steel...

[pwright1]

What a beautiful dt. The IDS Tower still looks awesome. Great set.

[Pilliod Njaim]

great thread here. Love the extreme wide.