Address: 1115 Second Avenue South

Neighborhood: Downtown West

Construction Date: 1930

Contractor: Unknown

Architect: Thomas R. Kimball

Architectural Style: Moderne

Historic Use: Religious – Church/ Commercial - Offices

Current Use: Under Construction (Mixed Use)

Date of Local Designation: 1986

Date of National Register Designation: N/A

Area(s) of Significance: Architecture; Master Architect

Period of Significance: 1930 -

Historic Profile: Reminiscent of an ancient Mesopotamian temple, the former Second Church of Christ Scientist Tower represents a rare example of the Ziggurat form of architecture in Minneapolis. Adapted to an urban setting, the Tower was constructed in 1930 to house the administrative offices, classrooms, and reading rooms for the Second Church of Christ Scientist. The tower was originally the first phase of a master plan for a new church. It was intended to be one of four towers surrounding the main church building. The plan was abandoned and the tower subsequently sold in 1965. After conversion into office rental space, it was renamed the Ivy Tower. The master plan was the design of the nationally prominent architect Thomas R. Kimball, known for his design of the Trans Mississippi and the International Exposition. Kimball chose exposed concrete with a contex surfaced finish for the exterior, one of the first architectural attempts in Minneapolis to give a textured finish to concrete. The arch systems of the roof lantern and the porte-cochere express a Mideastern influence, making the Ivy Tower unique to Minneapolis architecture. Boarded up for nearly a decade, the Ivy Tower is undergoing restoration (2007).

Photo Credits:

1974, Charles Nelson, courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society

2006 photo, Minneapolis CPED

Works Cited:

"National Register of Historic Places – Nomination Form," November 1983.

Updated: February 2007