Marquette Plaza

Marquette Plaza, designed by Gunnar Birkerts (who is also known for designing the Corning Museum of Glass in New York), was home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis from 1973 to 1997. The downtown location of the Minneapolis Public Library had also been temporarily located there while waiting for the 2006 completion of a new building a block away.

Designed much like a suspension bridge, most of the floors are supported by two sets of catenary cables. Underground chambers were used for vault space, and an external elevator shaft was attached on the east face of the building to connect a ground-floor lobby with the rest of the building. Marquette Plaza is also credited with inspiring the addition of an observation bridge with a catenary arch above the dramatic opening in Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Centre.

However, while the building’s design has been praised as a great engineering achievement, it was nonetheless plagued with design defects, such as leaky windows. In addition, asbestos was heavily used in its construction. Therefore, rather than renovate the structure, the Minneapolis Federal Reserve decided to build a new complex a few blocks away.

After passing into private hands, the building was remodeled for around $65 million in 2002, including the addition of office space and a skyway connection. The concrete plaza was also converted into a grassy park. In 2011, the building became the first large multi-tenant building in Minnesota to earn LEED Platinum certification, the most prestigious and challenging level of certification granted by the U.S. Green Building Council, for its leadership in the greening of downtown Minneapolis. And as of 2016, it is still currently the only LEED Platinum Certified building in the state.