About
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Address: 105 Fifth Street South
Neighborhood: Downtown West
Construction Date: 1914-15
Contractor: Thompson & Starrett Company
Architect: Robert Gibson
Architectural Style: Renaissance Revival
Historic Use: Commercial – Offices
Current Use: Commercial – Offices
Date of Local Designation: 1996
Date of National Register Designation: N/A
Area of Significance: Architecture, Industry
Period of Significance: 1900-
Historic Profile: At the time of its completion in 1915, the First National Soo Line Building was the tallest building in Minneapolis. Standing 19 stories tall, it represented a powerful symbol of corporate wealth and civic pride in Minneapolis. The building was a collaboration between two of the City’s most successful companies: the First National Bank and the Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (the Soo Line), for their corporate offices. Heavily influenced by the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, architect Robert Gibson used techniques from the Les Ecole des Beaux-Arts to design the Soo Line Building. Representing a return to classicism in architecture, the Soo Line Building stands out as one of the few tall buildings to incorporate Second Renaissance Revival details. With the exception of a second story skyway addition, the architectural integrity of the exterior remains intact.
Photo Credits:
1915, Norton and Peel, courtesy of The Minnesota Historical Society
2006, Minneapolis CPED
Updated: February 2007