About
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Address: 36-40 7th Street South
Neighborhood: Downtown West
Construction Date: 1929
Contractor: Unknown
Architect: Magney and Tusler
Architectural Style: Art Deco, Modern
Historic Use: Commercial - Restaurant
Current Use: Vacant
Date of Local Designation: 1975
Date of National Register Designation: N/A (removed in 1987)
Area(s) of Significance: Architecture
Period of Significance: 1900-
Historic Profile: The Forum Cafeteria was built in 1929-30 in the shell of the Saxe Moving Picture Theater. The interior, possibly the best example of Art Deco in the Twin Cities, has been compared to the lobbies of the Irving Trust and Chrysler Buildings in New York. The use of materials, the zigzag design, and the stylized Viking motifs are exemplary of Art Deco design. The interior is a cavern of light passing through the mirrored walls and over the shinny chrome rails and glassy tiles. The shiny materials, as well as the black, white, and turquoise color scheme, are emblematic of the modern machine age. In the 1970s the interior was removed from the original structure and placed in City Center in downtown Minneapolis. For years it operated as Scotties on Seventh and Goodfellows restaurants, but in 2005 closed and remains vacant (2007).
Photo Credits:
1950, Norton and Peel, courtesy of The Minnesota Historical Society
1948, Original Exterior (no longer existing), South 7 th Street between Hennepin Avenue and Nicollet Avenue, courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society
Works Cited:
City of Minneapolis, "Local Heritage Preservation Designation Study."