Canadian Pacific Plaza is a 383-ft (117 m) tall

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. 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 The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...

skyscraper built in Minneapolis. It is also the city's tallest building completed in the 1960s. A

skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...

connects the building to the Rand Tower,

Soo Line Building The Soo Line Building is a 19-story residential highrise in Minneapolis, Minnesota which was the tallest commercial building in the city from the time it was completed in 1915 until the 26-story Foshay Tower was built in 1929. History The Soo L ...

, and

US Bank Plaza U.S. Bank Plaza may refer to: * U.S. Bank Plaza (Boise), a high-rise building located in Boise, Idaho, formerly the tallest building in the state * U.S. Bank Plaza (Minneapolis), a tall, 23-floor skyscraper * U.S. Bank Plaza (Sacramento), a sk ...

. The building's history began in 1955 when

First Bank System First Bank System was a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based regional bank holding company that operated from 1864 to 1997. What was once First Bank forms the core of today's U.S. Bancorp; First Bank merged with the old U.S. Bancorp in 1997 and took the ...

of Minneapolis hired

Holabird, Root & Burgee The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to design a new headquarters. The project, assisted by Minneapolis firm Thorshov & Cerny, drew inspiration from the design principles of

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

and the recently completed

Lever House Lever House is a office building at 390 Park Avenue (Manhattan), Park Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building was designed in the International style (architecture), International Style by Gordon Bunshaft a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. 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 U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American bank holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and incorporated in Delaware. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, and is the fifth largest banking institution i ...

) 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 Capella Tower (also 225 South Sixth) is an office skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The building opened in 1992 as First Bank Place, replacing One Financial Plaza as the headquarters for First Bank System. In 1997, First Bank S ...

in 1992. The building subsequently took on the name One Financial Plaza. In August 2012, the building gained its current moniker when

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

moved its United States headquarters and 400 employees out of the nearby

, which was undergoing conversion into a residential building. The Soo Line Building is the namesake of the historic

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...

, 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.Janet Moore
Soo Line's conversion to apartments is close to reality
, ''Star Tribune'', April 12, 2012, accessed August 6, 2013.

References

Emporis
{{Minneapolis skyscrapers Skyscraper office buildings in Minneapolis Office buildings completed in 1960 Canadian Pacific Railway infrastructure 1960 establishments in Minnesota

See also

References