page_title: History of Minneapolis
section_title: Shaping the skyline
hierarchical_section_title: History of Minneapolis / Modern Minneapolis / Shaping the skyline
caption_attribution_description: Minneapolis
context_page_description: Minneapolis is the largest city by population in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The origin and growth of the city was spurred by the proximity of Fort Snelling, the first major United States military presence in the area, and by its location on Saint Anthony Falls, which provided power for sawmills and flour mills.
  Fort Snelling was established in 1819, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, and soldiers began using the falls for waterpower. When land became available for settlement, two towns were founded on either side of the falls: Saint Anthony, on the east side, and Minneapolis, on the west side. The two towns later merged into one city in 1872. Early development focused on sawmills, but flour mills eventually became the dominant industry. This industrial development fueled the development of railroads and banks, as well as the foundation of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. Through innovations in milling techniques, Minneapolis became a world-leading center of flour production, earning the name "Mill City".
context_section_description: While the destruction of the Gateway district left a large gap in downtown Minneapolis, other developments would reshape it and transform the skyline. One of these developments was the building of the Nicollet Mall in 1968. Previously known as Nicollet Avenue, the portion within the central business became a tree-lined mall for pedestrians and transit. The mall forms a kind of linear park, with trees and fountains and a farmers' market in the summer. It also boosted the city's retail trade. The most dramatic change to the skyline came in 1974, when the IDS Center was opened. At a height of 775 feet 6 inches (236.37 m) when built, it dwarfed the previous highest building, the Foshay Tower. Other additions to downtown included the Multifoods Tower (668 feet; 204 m) in 1983 now known as 33 South Sixth, Norwest Center, built in 1988 and now renamed the Wells Fargo Center, the Campbell Mithun Tower—previously Piper Jaffray built in 1985, and Capella Tower, built in 1992 as the headquarters of First Bank. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, opened in 1982 and demolished in 2014, served as the home of the Minnesota Vikings and previously hosted the Minnesota Twins, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.  Now on the site is U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, host of Super Bowl LII, and the 2019 Final Four.  In the 1990s, the last wave of downtown development filled in parcels around the skyscrapers with towers 40 stories or less from companies such as Target, Ameriprise Financial, and AT&T.
  Vertical residential housing also followed the corporate development. The 1970s condo boom saw many discreet high-rises blanket the former milling districts and Downtown West. Riverside Plaza, formerly Cedar Square West, was completed in 1973 as a six tower mixed-income self-contained urban village that originally was much larger and contains the tallest buildings outside Downtown. The plain modern and brutalist concrete styles of that period however were contrasted in the late 1990s to 2000s that brought in more prominent residential towers to the skyline with varying colors and architecture themes. The Carlyle residence one block south of the Mississippi River is 41 stories built in art deco style and is the most recent addition to the skyline. Grant Park and Skyscape, though not as tall at 27–28 stories, have begun extending the skyline south into the Elliot Park neighborhood. The two contrast as one is traditional with red brick proportions while the other is in modern glass.
  Light rail made its debut in Minneapolis with the opening of the Blue Line on June 26, 2004. This line, part of the METRO system, starts in downtown Minneapolis and progresses southeastward along Minnesota State Highway 55 (also known as Hiawatha Avenue), passes Minnehaha Park on the west side, and serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport before it terminates at the Mall of America in Bloomington. In 2014, service began on the Green Line which connects downtown with the University of Minnesota and downtown St. Paul.
caption: Skyline of Minneapolis in 1991
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