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 System acquired US Bancorp and changed the name of the building to US Bancorp Place. The headquarters of US Bancorp moved into the US Bancorp Center in 2000, whereupon the tower changed to 225 South 6th Street. In March 2009, the building took its present name.
31-521: The ranking of the building as the tallest in Minneapolis is in dispute. The IDS Center is usually said to be taller by one foot, even by the owners of Capella Tower. It was initially said to be built one foot shorter out of respect for the IDS Center; however, in 2005, it was revealed that contractors had surreptitiously added 14 inches (36 centimeters) of height to Capella, therefore making it taller than
62-460: A 32-year-old man knocked out a window in the 30th floor of the IDS ;Center and jumped to his death. Lobby (room) A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer , reception area or entrance hall , it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre , opera house , concert hall , showroom , cinema , etc.) adjacent to
93-599: A private south-facing dining club ("Tower Club"). The west-facing "University of Minnesota Alumni Club" closed to the public in 1994. Today, the entire 50th floor consists of four large ballrooms with a single central kitchen. The rooms are collectively known as "Windows at Marquette," and they serve as banquet space for the Marquette Hotel. Because of the IDS Center's peculiar and unique stepback design, termed "zogs" by its architect, Philip Johnson , each floor has up to 32 corner offices. The area of Nicollet Mall in front of
124-536: A result of falls from the IDS Tower, one by accident and two by suicide. In 2007, Fidel Danilo Sanchez-Flores, a worker removing snow from the IDS Center's Crystal Court roof, slipped and fell three stories through the glass canopied atrium to his death. In 2001, a 30-year-old man jumped to his death from the 51st floor, crashed through the Crystal Court, and landed by the fountain near Basil's restaurant. In 1996,
155-474: A result, the 9th floor is really the 11th floor and the 51st floor is really 53rd. This can be seen from the outside of the building or by walking down the stairwell from the 9th floor or higher. There is also a floor 2A which is inaccessible except from the freight elevators. There are also three floors beneath the IDS called P1, P2, and P3. These are storage levels for tenants and also are connected to
186-401: A two-story retail building that was originally dominated by Woolworth's . These four buildings are joined by the seven-story Crystal Court. The 57-story IDS became the tallest skyscraper in Minneapolis when it surpassed the height of the 32-story Foshay Tower in 1972, ending that building's 43-year reign over the city skyline. Construction of the building was followed with great interest, and
217-500: A year later in January 2006, the company began looking for new buyers. In August 2006 it was sold to The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc., for approximately $ 277 million. Beacon Investment Properties of Hallandale Beach, FL purchased the building from Inland in April 2013 for approximately $ 253 million. Communication spires on top of the building tower to 910 feet (280 m),
248-451: Is a true annex; the fourth through eighth floors can only be reached through the IDS Tower elevators, and the third floor can only be reached through the Marquette Hotel elevators. The building has not been without structural problems. Since soon after its construction, the Crystal Court had issues with water leaking through the roof after rain or snow due to effects of Minnesota's extreme freeze-thaw cycle. There are also frequent problems in
279-435: Is occupied by Globe College and University; originally this floor was an extension of the Crystal Court retail space and included a single-screen movie theater and shops. The building had a 51st floor observation deck until 1984; thousands of people came for one last visit on December 31, 1983. This floor is now office space. The 50th floor contained an east-facing "Orion Room" restaurant, a north-facing bar and cocktail lounge,
310-417: Is the tallest building in Minneapolis , and the tallest building in the state at a height of 792 feet (241 m). It originally stood 775 feet 6 inches (236.37 m), though a 16-foot (4.9 m) garage for window washing equipment was added between 1978 and 1979. The structure rises to 910 feet (10,900 in) when including communications spires on the roof, indisputably the highest points in
341-467: The architects behind the design stated that it rose 774 feet (236 m) tall upon its completion in 1992. However, the height had been increased due to an engineering need, according to Tom O'Mara, one of the construction managers at the time of Capella Tower construction. There were some ventilation ducts near the roof that required about 14 more inches (36 cm) of height. The construction team added an extra 10 inches (25 cm) to that, bringing
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#1732855472853372-454: The auditorium . It may be a repose area for spectators, especially used before performance and during intermissions , but also as a place of celebrations or festivities after performance. In other buildings, such as office buildings or condominiums, lobbies can function as gathering spaces between the entrance and elevators to other floors. Since the mid-1980s, there has been a growing trend to think of lobbies as more than just ways to get from
403-470: The door to the elevator but instead as social spaces and places of commerce. Some research has even been done to develop scales to measure lobby atmosphere to improve hotel lobby design. Many office buildings , condominiums , hotels and skyscrapers go to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create the right impression and convey an image. The word "lobby" comes from Medieval Latin lobia , laubia or lobium . This article related to
434-508: The metric system and back again. The IDS was often reported as 774 feet (236 m) in height because of this problem, occasionally appearing to be two feet shorter than its competitor. The building has two mechanical floors between the 8th and 9th floor and two mechanical floors between 51 and the roof level. They are known as 8A, 8B and 51A, 51B. They are not accessible from any of the building's passenger elevators and contain HVAC equipment. As
465-412: The IDS Center is familiar to television viewers: the character of Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show was seen on Nicollet Mall looking at an IDS shop in the opening montage of the show. Across South 7th Street from the IDS was Donaldson's Department Store, in front of which she tossed her hat in the air at the end of the opening sequence. A statue commemorating that shot stands approximately at
496-436: The building and owner of the for-profit online Capella University , signed a lease that changed the name of the tower to Capella Tower. The new lease expands Capella's square footage in the building from 203,000 sq ft (18,900 m) to about 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m), making it the largest tenant in the building. The expanded facility houses all of the company's 1,150 downtown Minneapolis employees; as
527-473: The building to a total of 776 feet 0 inches (236.52 m). In the years following completion, the actual height eventually became known as it was published in almanacs and other listings of building height. The owners of the Capella Tower were hesitant to claim that their building was taller than IDS, and usually deferred the honor to the more well-known structure. As area journalists reported on
558-619: The building's official height (though this is unclear). The IDS is taller on two measures. The IDS's communications spires add a significant amount of height making it 910 ft (280 m), and it remains the tallest building in Minneapolis if measured by number of stories (57 vs. 56; actually tied for first with neighbor Wells Fargo Center ). Capella Tower is connected to the Minneapolis Skyway System and has 1.4 million square feet (130,000 m). of office space. In March 2008, Capella Education Co. , longtime occupant of
589-473: The camera location of the view, created and maintained by TVLand. She is also seen in the show opening dining with then-husband Grant Tinker at what is now the terrace of Jolliet House on the hotel's third floor, overlooking the Crystal Court. Diners can still sit at the "Mary Tyler Moore Table." The IDS Tower has an eight-story annex extending along the Marquette Avenue side of the building. This building
620-459: The city. The IDS was constructed as the headquarters of Investors Diversified Services, Inc.—now Ameriprise Financial . It also housed the headquarters of Dayton Hudson Corporation (now Target Corporation ) from 1972 until 2001. The complex consists of five parts: the 57-story IDS Tower itself at 8th Street & Nicollet Mall, an eight-story annex building along Marquette Avenue, the 19-story Marquette Hotel at 7th Street & Marquette Avenue, and
651-466: The different styles of buildings in downtown Minneapolis. The illuminated semicircle located atop the tower is not only decorative but also houses an antenna farm and communications network. This feature has given the building the nickname the "Halo Building". IDS Center The IDS Center is an office skyscraper located at 80 South 8th Street in Minneapolis , Minnesota . Completed in 1973, it
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#1732855472853682-553: The dispute. A spokesperson for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat , which sometimes handles height disputes, stated that it would be unlikely for the garage to be included in the official height because many would not consider it to be an integral part of the building's design. It is unclear if the height of the Capella Tower reaches to the top of the "halo" surrounding the screen walls (walls designed to hide cooling towers on
713-545: The equipment was removed and digital towers were added for the national digital switch. Some television broadcasters using the towers include Univision affiliate WUMN-LD and KMBD-LD , which broadcasts HSN programming, while the area's major television stations use them for their STL towers and microwave relays to Shoreview and their studios and live trucks. The tower is leased to smaller businesses. The IDS has 1.4 million square feet (120,000 m ) of office and retail space. Tenants include: There have been three deaths as
744-499: The highest point in Minneapolis. A number of major FM radio stations which formerly broadcast from the site now use the IDS as a backup in case their primary location in Shoreview, Minnesota were to fail. One of the most notable broadcasters was 99.5 WLOL until the pop format signed off in late February 1991. In fact, one well-known reference was "From the top-top-top of the IDS Center, 99 and 1/2 WLOL Minneapolis-Saint Paul!" In 2009
775-409: The main roof of IDS Center. In February 2005, the IDS counted a 16-foot-tall (5-meter) window washing garage built on its roof in 1979 as part of its actual height, making it 14 ft (4.3 m) taller than Capella Tower. This ambiguity between official measurements and public relations statements might be due in some part to the "halo" that extends out from the roof, which is apparently included in
806-450: The online school does not have classrooms, the space houses administrative staff and faculty. The name change took place in March 2009. The office building, designed by Pei, Cobb, Freed & Partners , is laid out on an L-shaped site with the 58-story tower connected to the 20-story Star Tribune Building by an atrium. The building combines six-story cubes and various round towers which echo
837-623: The parking ramp below the IDS. Neither 2A, or P's 1, 2, and 3 are counted as actual floors. Half of the space of the complex (floors 9 to 57 of the Tower) is located above the 8th floor and half (including the retail, hotel, and floors 1 to 8 of the Tower and annex building) is located below the 8th floor. The building was purchased by the John Buck Company in December 2004 for US$ 225 million. Just over
868-410: The roof), so the height of the flat roof might be somewhat shorter, or that building might similarly be able to add to its height by including the additional structure. Presently, the IDS is considered to be 15 feet (4.6 m) taller than the former First Bank Tower. It is also important to note that height measurements are sometimes incorrectly reported due to conversion from U.S. customary units to
899-454: The sale of the IDS Center to the John Buck Company in 2004 and the death of designer Philip Johnson in 2005, they came face-to-face with the fact that the roof of the tower was one foot lower than its neighbor. Emporis.com restored the IDS Center to first-place status in the city in February 2005 by including the height of the window-washing garage, although that has not completely ended
930-507: The topping-off ceremony was a major civic event in the city. In addition to being taller, IDS occupies a much larger footprint than the obelisk-like Foshay. It was the 16th tallest building in the world on completion, and the third tallest constructed that year. 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 four adjacent blocks. The Concourse level
961-492: The winter when ice falls from the tower and onto the court's glass roof panels, often breaking through. Occasionally the court will be roped off to prevent injury to the public. The Center and Crystal Court were devastated by a summer wind storm in June 1979 that led to much glass breakage. The entire Crystal Court was sealed off by plywood barriers while this was repaired. The owners of the Capella Tower (formerly First Bank Place) and