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The Twin Cities
The Foshay Tower, and downtown Minneapolis
The Foshay Tower was modeled after the Washington Monument, and was built in 1929. Until the construction of the IDS Tower, in 1971, the Foshay Building, was the tallest building in the city. So why not take cityscape photos from the IDS building, or perhaps the Wells Fargo Tower? Interestingly, out of all of the high rise buildings which shape the Minneapolis skyline, only the venerable old Foshay Building has an observation deck. At a height of 447 feet, the Foshay is the 15th tallest building of the Minneapolis skyline, though as always, in such a dynamic place, this is subject to change.

The classic thirties, art deco marble and glass interior of the Foshay Building.

A view of one of the enclosed  outside observation decks. This deck runs along the outside of the building,  giving the tourist, or photographer, a full 360 degree view of the city.

A self portrait, taken in the reflective side of the Campbell Mithun Tower (formerly the Piper Jaffrey Tower).

With The Piper Jaffrey Building reflecting the Foshay Tower to the right, we can see the Accenture Tower in the middle of the picture, along with the much smaller, and more brightly colored Lutheran Brotherhood Building. The Accenture Tower was originally supposed to be a part of the twin tower Lincoln Center. The second tower was never built.
Off to the left, is a glimpse of the American Express Building.

The American Express Building, with the Lutheran Brotherhood Center, and the Accenture Tower to the right.

The odd looking building, with the round upper stories, and the "hat" is the Bank One Center. Just behind it is the Pillsbury Building. The curved lines of a somewhat smaller building in the center are the fifth Street Towers.

The Wells Fargo Tower, and the Bank One Center glare at each other across a plain of smaller buildings.

A slightly lower look, towards the bases of these towering buildings. The orange looking building in the center of the photo is Northstar West. This was the first building to be connected via skywalk to another building.

A rooftop garden graces one of the Northstar complex structures. These consist of the Northstar East, the Northstar West, and the Crowne Plaza Northstar Hotel

The IDS Tower, and the Wells Fargo building, with the Dorsey Whitney building in between. Despite their traditional lines, and styling, both the Dorsey Whitney building, and the Wells Fargo building are recent additions to the skyline.

The right hand side of the photo is filled with a portion of the IDS Tower. The white building to the left is the US Bancorp Center, which has granite columns  set as sculpture on the sidewalk.

From certain angles, the taller buildings seem to act as a frame through which to view the outlying areas of the city.

A view over the Target Plaza, and the downtown Target store, towards Hennipen.

We are looking over the top of Retek on the Mall, and the Target Plaza. To the left is the Basilica of St. Mary. The apartment building in the center of the photo, with the curved center sections is Wilson Park Tower, while the slightly taller building on top of the parking ramp is Hennepin Crossing Apartments.

To the left of the photo, we are looking at the Target Plaza, which consists of two buildings, the taller Target Plaza North, and the target Plaza South. Retek on the Mall, which is to the right of the photograph, contains the downtown Target store, and is connected via skywalk to the Target Plaza.

A bit of the AT&T Building sits to the far right of the photo. The Minneapolis Convention Center is  visible to the left, along with much of southern minneapolis. The large brick building seen below, is the Minneapolis Hilton, and towers. It is right next to the Minneapolis Convention Center, which is the partially blue roofed building to the left of the photo.

An over view of the Minneapolis Convention Center.

A little bit closer view, shows the Central Lutheran Church off to the left, while the Minneapolis Institute of Art sits towards the upper right of the photo, shrouded in threes.

A look down the Interstate. This view is more or less looking south, over the city. The Central Lutheran Church sits in (fittingly) the center of the photo. The Minneapolis Convention Center is off to the right.

The Freeway, the Convention Center, and the Church. The white structure to the left is a parking garage. Outside of the downtown areas, the city is very green, and very much one of neighborhoods.
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