Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day fire

The Wells Fargo Center (90 South 7th St), formerly known as Norwest Center, is the third-tallest building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after the IDS Center and the Capella Tower. Completed in 1988, it is 774 feet (235.6 m) tall. For many years, this was believed to be one foot shorter than Capella, but that structure actually had a different height (see the Capella Tower article for details). Norwest Center was designed with a modernized art deco style by César Pelli, reflecting nearby structures such as the nearby CenturyLink Building and the Foshay Tower, which is several blocks away. It is also considered by many to be a homage to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Wells Fargo Center sits on the site of the old Northwestern National Bank Building, which was destroyed in a fire in 1982. The original design called for a 45-story tower with a square footprint that would have been crowned the tallest building in Minneapolis; however, the site was halved in size, requiring the building's design to be changed to what it is today. Northwestern National, renamed Norwest Corporation, maintained its headquarters here. Despite Norwest's adoption of the Wells Fargo identity after acquiring the latter and moving to San Francisco in 1998, significant regional operations are still maintained in this building. Other major tenants include the law firm of Faegre Drinker and the local office of accounting firm KPMG. It is brilliantly lit at night from sunset through midnight, with floodlamps pointing up from the setback rooftops to illuminate the sides of the building. Despite this, it is still much more energy efficient than the previous building and in 2000, it was recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as one of the 100 most energy efficient buildings in the USA. In 1989, the building was praised by the Urban Land Institute, who honored it with their Award for Excellence in Large Scale Office Development. It is located at 90 South 7th Street. Gaviidae Common, a neighboring shopping center, was also designed by Pelli and built at the same time. A branch of the Wells Fargo History Museum was located in the skyway level. The museum's exhibits included an 1863 stagecoach, telegraph equipment, gold nuggets and coins. It closed in September of 2020.As of April of 2019, Starwood Capital Group acquired Wells Fargo Center for $314 million. The sellers were Hines and Blackstone.

The Minneapolis Skyway System is an interlinked collection of enclosed pedestrian footbridges that connect various buildings in 80 full city blocks over 9.5 miles (15.3 km) of Downtown Minneapolis, enabling people to walk in climate-controlled comfort year-round. The skyways are owned by individual buildings in Minneapolis, and as such they do not have uniform opening and closing times. The 11 miles of skyway are comparable to the Houston tunnel system, the systems in Canadian cities such as Toronto's PATH, Montreal's Underground City, Calgary's 11-mile +15 system and the 8-mile Edmonton Pedway system. The Minneapolis skyways connect the second or third floors of various office towers, hotels, banks, corporate and government offices, restaurants, and retail stores to the Nicollet Mall shopping district, the Mayo Clinic Square, and the sports facilities at Target Center, Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium. Several condominium and apartment complexes are skyway-connected as well, allowing residents to live, work, and shop downtown without having to leave the skyway system.

Gaviidae Common is a mixed-use shopping mall and office complex on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The first phase of the mall, Gaviidae Common I, opened in 1989 and is adjoined to Gaviidae Common II by a series of skyways. Phase II opened in 1991. A joint venture designed by Argentine American architect César Pelli and Chicago-based Lohan Associates, the mall occupies 443,000-square-foot (41,000 m2) of retail and office space spread across five floors. Following the closure of the mall's food court and several tenants in 2013, the top three floors of Gaviidae Common II were converted into office and recreational space for the adjoining RBC Plaza. The mall houses the state's largest barrel-vaulted ceiling and contains loon-inspired artwork designed by Deborah Sussman and Paul Prejza. Loons belong to the family Gaviidae, hence the shopping center's namesake. Gaviidae Common is anchored by Walgreens and YMCA, both of which were added to the mall's lineup of stores after an extensive renovation of the shopping center. Saks Fifth Avenue, the mall's original anchor tenant, converted into a discount store in 2005, before closing in 2015. Neiman Marcus opened along with phase II in 1991 but closed in 2013.

RBC Plaza is a 40-story office tower and retail center located along Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota that serves as the U.S. headquarters for RBC Wealth Management. The building was formerly known as Dain Rauscher Plaza for Dain Rauscher Wessels, a regional brokerage and investment banking firm based in Minneapolis. Following the 2000 acquisition of Dain Rauscher Wessels by the Royal Bank of Canada and 2008 end of use of the brand by RBC, the building was given its current name. It is linked to the downtown core's 64 block skyway system with three separate skyway connections. In 2014, the building was awarded LEED certification at the Gold level by the U.S. Green Building Council. The building was also awarded an Energy Star label in 2014 for its operating efficiency.

The 1942 Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank building in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, is a former bank building that is now the home of a Westin Hotel. The building is an example of the Streamline Moderne phase of the Art Deco movement and is notable for its bold relief sculptures of a farmer and a mechanic framing the main entrance. The sculptures were designed by Warren T. Mosman, who headed the sculpture department at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. The previous Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank headquarters was built in 1891 on 115 S. 4th St. It is now home to The Downtown Cabaret, a strip club. The walnut-paneled main banking hall of the building is now the lobby of the hotel. The taller wings of the building once held offices, but now house 214 hotel rooms. The hotel conversion preserved several historic features of the bank building. The main banking lobby with a 34-foot (10 m) high ceiling, marble staircase, and carved wood emblems have been retained. The bank's boardroom on the 10th floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows, is now a conference room. The original bank vault on the lower level is also a conference room, while the former safety deposit vault is now a wine vault and the entire bank has been made into a restaurant, called B.A.N.K. The restaurant kept as much of the original woodworking from the actual bank as possible. Former offices now serve as private dining rooms and the teller counter now serves as a bar.

Rand Tower is a 26-story high rise in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, that was one of the city's tallest structures when it was completed in 1929.

Northstar Center is an office building and hotel complex in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota developed in the early 1960s. It opened in 1963 as the first mixed-use development in Minneapolis that offered office, retail, entertainment, and hotel functions. It consisted of three separate buildings: the Cargill Building, Northstar Inn, and the Pillsbury Company Building. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016 for its significance in community planning and development.Northstar Center occupies most of the city block bounded by South Sixth Street, Second Avenue South, South Seventh Street, and Marquette Avenue. The exception is a low-rise building on the northwest corner built as a bank and opened in 1949. The oldest part of the complex is the Pillsbury Building, which is thirteen stories high, built of reinforced concrete, and clad in stone. The Pillsbury Building was substantially modified in the 1960s to include it in Northstar Center, receiving additions to the seventh through thirteenth floors above the parking ramp.: 17  The 1960s development included a hotel on the southeast corner, historically known as the Northstar Inn and now part of the Hotel Indigo chain; the Cargill Building on the southwest corner; and a parking ramp occupying the second through sixth floors. The first floor of the hotel includes retail space and the hotel lobby, while the first floor and part of the second floor of the Cargill Building house commercial retail spaces. Above the parking garage, the seventh floor (shared between the Cargill Building and the hotel) houses offices and banquet rooms, and then the Cargill Building houses corporate tenants on the eighth through 17th floors. : 15–16 The building is also notable for its skyways connecting it to neighboring buildings. The skyway crossing Seventh Street to Baker Center is the oldest surviving skyway in the system, while another skyway crossed Marquette Avenue to the Northwestern National Bank Building. That skyway was burned in the Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day fire in 1982, and when the new Norwest Center was built, the replacement skyway was connected to the former Midwest Federal Savings and Loan building instead of the Cargill Building. A later skyway connected Northstar Center to Capella Tower.: 16, 20 Walkin' Dog was located in Northstar Center.

Walkin' Dog was an American hot dog stand located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Owned by Dave Magnuson, the restaurant had been located inside the first floor food court of the Northstar Center office complex from 1991 to 2023, though it relocated to a different retail space within the same building in 2021. The restaurant's menu consisted of mostly hot dogs, made with Vienna sausage and including Chicago-style, in addition to nachos, pretzels, and ice cream. It was frequently cited by local publications as one of the most affordable dining options in the Minneapolis Skyway System. Following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and nearby George Floyd protests, the restaurant experienced a significant loss in customers beginning in 2020, and as a result of Northstar Center's renovation project, Walkin' Dog closed on April 21, 2023. The following year, Magnuson announced the restaurant would reopen following the completion of renovations.

Nicollet Mall is a twelve-block portion of Nicollet Avenue running through downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is the shopping and dining district of the city, and also a pedestrian mall and transit mall. Along with Hennepin Avenue to the west, Nicollet Mall forms the cultural and commercial center of Minneapolis. Several notable Minneapolis buildings line the Mall, notably the IDS Center, the former Dayton's flagship store, Orchestra Hall, and the Hennepin County Library. Minneapolis CBS Station WCCO-TV broadcasts from studios and offices on the south end of the Mall. Several major companies have their headquarters along the Mall, including Target Corporation and US Bank. On Thursdays during the summer, the Nicollet Mall hosts a farmers' market while in the winter the Holidazzle Parade, now entitled "Holidazzle Village", are hosted in the Mall.

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota (FFM) is a conservative think tank based in Minnesota. The group states that it "actively advocates the principles of individual freedom, personal responsibility, economic freedom, and limited government." Annette Meeks founded the organization in 2006 and currently serves as CEO. The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota founded Minnesota Watchdog, an online news service. The organization is a member of the State Policy Network.

50 South Sixth is a 404-ft (123 m) high-rise office building in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was completed in 2001 and has 30 floors. It is the 18th-tallest building in the city. A skyway connects this building to the 15 Building, Renaissance Square, Minneapolis City Center, and Gaviidae Common. The Minnesota Law Center once occupied this site. The 689,482-square-foot (64,055.0 m2) Class A office tower is managed by Newmark Knight Frank.

Nicollet Mall is a light rail station on the METRO Blue Line and Green Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Adjacent to the light rail platforms is the southbound METRO Orange Line bus rapid transit station Marquette and 5th Street. This station is located on 5th Street South, between Nicollet Mall and Marquette Avenue in Minneapolis. This is a center-platform station with one westbound traffic lane south of the platform. Service began at this station when the Blue Line opened on June 26, 2004. In 2013 Metro Transit began constructing an additional northbound platform in conjunction with and as part of the Nic on Fifth apartment building. The additional platform was built to provide additional comfort and safety at the station, as well as alleviating overcrowding and providing additional capacity for Southwest LRT. While scheduled open March 2017, the new platform was opened December 22 later that year. It is the only station on the system where passengers can regularly board from either side of the train.