Canadian Pacific Plaza
Map
General information
Address120 South Sixth Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates44°58′38″N 93°16′7″W / 44.97722°N 93.26861°W / 44.97722; -93.26861
Completed1960
Height383 ft (117 m)
Technical details
Floor count28
Design and construction
Architecture firmHolabird, Root & Burgee with Thorshov & Cerny

Canadian Pacific Plaza is a 383-ft (117 m) tall skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was completed in 1960 and has 28 floors. It is the 21st-tallest building in the city. It is the first major post-World War II skyscraper built in Minneapolis. It is also the city's tallest building completed in the 1960s. A skyway connects the building to the Rand Tower, Soo Line Building, and US Bank Plaza.

The building's history began in 1955 when First Bank System of Minneapolis hired Holabird, Root & Burgee of Chicago to design a new headquarters.[1] The project, assisted by Minneapolis firm Thorshov & Cerny, drew inspiration from the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the recently completed Lever House in New York City. Construction commenced with demolition of the New York Life Insurance Building in 1957, followed by a January groundbreaking in 1958, and final occupancy in May of 1960.

The building was known for its first 20 years as First National Bank Building. It served as the headquarters for First Bank System (now U.S. Bancorp) and its subsidiary First National Bank of Minneapolis (now U.S. Bank). In 1980, after the bank developed Pillsbury Center, whose shorter tower was styled First Bank Place East, the First National Bank Building was renamed First Bank Place West. First Bank System and First Bank, N.A. moved to the Capella Tower in 1992.[2] The building subsequently took on the name One Financial Plaza.[3] In August 2012, the building gained its current moniker when Canadian Pacific Railway moved its United States headquarters and 400 employees out of the nearby Soo Line Building, which was undergoing conversion into a residential building.[4] The Soo Line Building is the namesake of the historic Soo Line Railroad, of which the Canadian Pacific become majority shareholder in 1890 and took full control in 1990, moving its own US headquarters into the former Soo Line offices.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Appendix I - Historical Resrouces Documentation" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 27, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Minneapolis / Skyscraper celebration set". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. October 17, 1992. p. 02B. First Bank Place officially opens with a grand celebration tonight. The 53-story skyscraper complex on 3rd Av. between 6th and 7th Sts., designed by architect James Freed of Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners of New York, has been part of the downtown Minneapolis skyline for two years but the interior was just finished this month. The taller of its towers, on 6th St., has been occupied by First Bank System.
  3. ^ Black, Sam (April 5, 2012). "One Financial Plaza in Minneapolis to be renamed to Canadian Pacific Plaza". Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  4. ^ Black, Sam (August 20, 2012). "Downtown Minneapolis office building gets new name: Canadian Pacific Plaza". Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  5. ^ Janet Moore, Soo Line's conversion to apartments is close to reality Archived 2012-08-18 at the Wayback Machine, Star Tribune, April 12, 2012, accessed August 6, 2013.
Categories