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Ids Center IDS Center> | olspan="2"| | | Begun: | 1968 | | Opened: | 1974 | | Height: | 792 (241 meters) | | Floors: | 57 (52 occupied) | | ZIP Code: | 55402 | | World Rank: | 116th (as of March 2005) | | City Rank: | 1st (as of early 2005) | | Location: | 80 8th St. South | | Architect: | Philip Johnson
Johnson/Burgee Architects | | Developers: | Investment Diversified Services
(a division of American Express) | Opened in 1974, the IDS Center (or IDS Tower) is the tallest building in Minneapolis, Minnesota at 792 feet. Its height from top to bottom was 775 feet when built, the 16-foot Washroom Garage on the roof was not included in the actual building height. In 1992 a 776-foot tall skyscraper, 225 South Sixth, was built, being called the tallest building. However, in 2005, the owners of both buildings fought over which building was taller. The IDS Center counted the garage, now making it 792 feet tall. Doing so restored its status of "tallest" in February 2005. It surpassed the height of the 30-story Foshay Tower in 1972 while under construction, ending that building's 43-year reign over the Minneapolis skyline. Assembly of the building was followed with great interest, and the topping-off ceremony was a major civic event in the city. Many high-rise buildings in Minneapolis echo design features of the IDS Center. Because of the IDS Center's peculiar and unique stepback design (the stepbacks are called "zogs"), each floor has 32 corner offices. The area of Nicollet Mall just in front of the IDS Center is familiar to many television viewers: the character of Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show tossed her hat into the air on the site in the opening sequence used for several seasons. A statue of her was erected across the street from the building three decades later. A lobby and shopping area at the bottom of the tower is known as the Crystal Court, and provides skyway connections between the tower and the rest of downtown Minneapolis. The building has an observation deck, but it has been closed to the public since the beginning of 1984. Thousands of people came for one last visit on December 31, 1983. A public restaurant named Windows on Minnesota operated for several more years on the 50th floor. Today, the Foshay Tower has the highest observation deck that remains open. The restored first-place status of the IDS center as the city's tallest building has been disputed as of early of 2005. The owners of 225 South Sixth were hesitant to claim that their building is taller than IDS. When First Bank Place was completed, it was said that it was a foot shorter than the IDS tower out of respect. Height of that building is also reportedly measured to the top of the "halo" guarding what appears to be a helicopter landing pad, so the height of the flat roof might be somewhat shorter. But the washroom garage is now counted on the actual height of the IDS making it from 775 to 792 feet now (so is now 15 feet taller than 225 South Sixth). It is also important to note that height measurements are sometimes incorrectly reported due to conversions between U.S. customary units and the metric system (The IDS was often reported as 774 feet in height because of this problem). The Wells Fargo Center (formerly the Norwest Tower) is very close to the IDS Center; from certain angles, the reflection of the WFC can be seen in the glass facing of the IDS Center. The same is also true of the Foshay Tower. Communication spires on top of the building tower to 910 feet, the highest point in Minneapolis. Some of the broadcasters using the antenna include MTV2 (a remnant of the old Box network, though the local transmitter was recently sold to Univision), religious broadcasters like EWTN and TBN, and the Home Shopping Network. A number of major FM radio stations formerly broadcasted from the site, but now use the IDS antenna as a backup in case their primary location in Shoreview, Minnesota were to fail.
See also - KPXM Tower – the tallest guyed structure in Minnesota
External links References
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