Capella Tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to license this image
Click here to purchase a poster or print of this image
Capella Tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to license this image
Click here to purchase a poster or print of this image
  Scroll down for more pictures  
Capella Tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to license this image
Click here to purchase a poster or print of this image
Capella Tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to license this image
Click here to purchase a poster or print of this image
Capella Tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to license this image
Click here to purchase a poster or print of this image
Capella Tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to license this image
Click here to purchase a poster or print of this image
Capella Tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to license this image
Click here to purchase a poster or print of this image
Capella Tower
Formerly:225 South Sixth
Formerly:U.S. Bancorp Place
Formerly:First Bank Place
225 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402 United States
Print this page   •   Share this page

A piece of turn-of-the-millennium European architecture springing up in America's heartland. This skyscraper would be perfectly at home in Frankfurt, Berlin, or London. It's main feature is a glittering shaft that rises from a surrounding complex of complimentary, but more traditional, boxes. The eye is led up the building to its ornamental crown, which is illuminated at night. At the base is a 75-foot-tall wintergarden, a welcome refuge from the cold Minnesota winter. In spite of its nontraditional form, the people of Minneapolis have accepted this skyscraper as one of their own, though not without reservations. The building's negative aspects can be summed up most succinctly in a comment from James Lileks of the Minneapolis Past and Present web site: "It's too many buildings, and it doesn't seem to want to be any of them."

What doesn't make sense is why it isn't taller. This tower is 774-feet-tall -- just one foot shorter than the IDS Center. Would it have been so hard for someone to add another 12 inches to the façade? Or maybe cement a couple of bricks together on the roof? Or at least erect a flagpole. Isn't bragging rights to tallest building in Minnesota worth anything on the local real estate market? This is nothing short of an opportunity wasted.

Sponsored by: Towrs: The architecture site you help build
Quick Facts
  • Construction start: 1989
  • Construction end: 1992
  • Designed by: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
  • Type: Skyscraper
  • Stories: 56
  • Maximum Height: 776 feet / 237 meters
Statistics
  • Height to roof: 731 feet
  • Height to top of decorative crown: 776 feet
Timeline
  • 1989: Construction begins.
  • 1992: Construction ends.
  • 2006: This building is sold for $245,000,000.
Notes
  • This building was designed by James Ingo Freed.
  • At the time of its completion, this building was 774 feet to the top of the crown. Adjustments made to the crown later increased the height to 776 feet.
Look For
  • The big decorative crown. Some people call it a "frisbee." Some people think it's some kind of transmitting antenna, but they're wrong.
Rate This Skyscraper
method='post' action='/Building.php?ID=969#Rate'>Current rating:50% 80%  name='Rating' id='Rating' value='Praise' class='Plain'> name='Rating' id='Rating' value='Raze' class='Plain'>
Sponsored by: High quality affordable architectural stock photography from Artefaqs.
Your Thoughts

There are three comments.

  weird base of the building, but that is shadowed by other towers. the "shaft" of the building is amazing... should have been taller.

travis - Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 @ 6:25pm  

  This is my favorite building in Minneapolis.Interestingly enough, they built it shorter than the IDS tower on purpose so as not to take anything away from that building.However, due to an engineering need, the height was raised two feet to make it 776 feet tall, thus displacing the IDS tower as the tallest in Minneapolis. However, if the height of the window washing garage is included, the IDS tower is taller.If you count the total heights including attentae, then the IDS tower is taller.My source is Wikipedia and memory of a brochure from inside the 225 South sixth building itself.

Turbo852 - Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 @ 2:18pm  

Add Your Comments name="Name" id="Name" class="Required" size="40" value="">
name="Email" id="Email" class="Required" size="40" value="">


name="Precious" value="Snowflake">

E-mail address for validation only. It will not be displayed. Valid name and e-mail address required.

name="on" id="Email" class="Required" size="10" maxlength="2">This helps fight spam bots.
name="ea" id="Email" class="Required" size="10" maxlength="4">This helps fight spam bots.
value="Add">
  CAC Community   CAC Extras   CAC Tools   CAC Sister Sites
Copyright 2008 Artefaqs Corporation. Artefaqs® and the Artefaqs logo are registered trademarks of the Artefaqs Corporation.
Neither text nor images from this web site may be used without permission.
All your skyscrapers are belong to us.

Sponsored by: Homeowner Loan - Cheap Car Insurance - Savings Accounts - Secured Loans