{{Short description|Structure in Minneapolis, MN, USA}} {{Other uses|Metropolitan Building (disambiguation){{!}}Metropolitan Building}} {{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox building | name = Metropolitan Building | image = Metropolitan Building Minneapolis.jpg | image_alt = | caption = The Metropolitan Building in November 1960 | image_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | alternate_names = Northwestern Guaranty Loan Building | location = 308 2nd Avenue South,<br />[[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]] | coordinates = {{coord|44|58|46.3|N|93|16|0|W|type:landmark_region:US-MN|display=inline,title}} | status = demolished | construction_start_date = | completion_date = 1890 | opening_date = | destruction_date = 1961 | building_type = | antenna_spire = | roof = {{convert|258|ft|m|abbr=on}} | top_floor = | floor_count = 12 | elevator_count = | cost = $1,000,000 | floor_area = | architect = | structural_engineer = | main_contractor = | developer = | owner = | operator = | references = }}
The '''Metropolitan Building''', originally known as the '''Northwestern Guaranty Loan Building''', is considered to be one of the most [[architecture|architecturally]] significant structures in the history of [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]]. It stood from 1890 until it was torn down starting in 1961 as part of major [[urban renewal]] efforts in the city that saw about 40% of the downtown district razed and replaced with new structures. At the time, the pending destruction of the [[Richardsonian Romanesque]] building provided a catalyst for historic preservation movements in the city and across the state.<ref name="Lost Twin Cities">''Lost Twin Cities'' by Larry Millett, (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1992) pp. 222–225.</ref>
==Early skyscraper==
The building is considered the city's first [[skyscraper]], with 12 stories and standing {{convert|218|ft}} tall. Small observation towers poked up above the corners, and the rooftop had a popular garden. It was built of green [[New Hampshire]] [[granite]] and red [[Lake Superior]] [[sandstone]], with the interiors dressed in antique [[oak]] and beautiful ornamental iron and brass work by Crown Iron Works Company of Minneapolis. A large [[Skylight (window)|skylight]] allowed the interior to be safely lit in a time when [[electric light]]ing was rare (though the building was eventually wired), and the floors of walkways circling the center court were [[translucent]] to allow more light to filter through.<ref name="Lost Twin Cities" /> Architect [[E. Townsend Mix]] designed the building, and it is considered to be his most notable achievement. Many of the city's most prestigious companies had offices in the Metropolitan.<ref name="Mix and Menage">[http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/stageandarts/135285418.html?refer=y The men behind the Metropolitan Building] ''www.startribune.com''. Retrieved: March 5, 2013.</ref>
When it went up, the building was owned by the Northwestern Guaranty Loan Company. [[Louis F. Menage]], founder, had gained a fortune while speculating on [[real estate]] in the Minneapolis area in the 1880s.<ref name="Mix and Menage"/> He spent [[United States dollar|$]]1 million on the project. Many hailed the building when it was first completed, although some such as [[Cass Gilbert]] did not like the style.<ref name="Lost Twin Cities"/>
==Downfall== The [[Panic of 1893]] caused Menage's company to collapse, and he fled the country. [[Thomas Lowry]], another major real estate speculator and the owner of the area's [[streetcar]] network, purchased the building but only held onto it for a little more than a decade before selling it to the [[Metropolitan Life Insurance Company]] in 1905. This is where the building gained its "Metropolitan" name, even though it changed hands a few more times before succumbing to the wrecking ball.<ref>[http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/stageandarts/135285333.html?refer=y They paved paradise] ''www.startribune.com''. Retrieved: March 5, 2013.</ref>
[[Image:Metropolitan Building skylight Minneapolis.jpg|thumb|left|325px|A view up to the skylight]] There was little practical reason to tear down the building. Records from the day indicate that it was safe and almost fully occupied at the time it was [[eminent domain|condemned]]. The structure came down because it was in the wrong neighborhood—on the edge of the so-called [[Gateway District (Minneapolis)|Gateway District]], sitting on the southwest corner of Third Street South and Second Avenue South.<ref>[http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/53/v53i03p112-115.pdf Ghost of the Gateway] ''Minnesota History Magazine.'' Retrieved: February 9, 2013.</ref>
==Present day== Some giant marble stones from the building were found in an old warehouse in [[Delano, Minnesota]] in May 2010, and the owner of the building set off a frenzy when he emailed a small group of architects and historical preservationists in Minnesota who now are trying to find money and a way to save the stones.<ref>[http://www.herald-journal.com/archives/2010/stories/granite-delano.html New owners purchase granite remnant yard] ''herald-journal.com''. Retrieved: March 5, 2013.</ref>
The Ice House Plaza, which opened in May 2012, includes several blocks of stone salvaged from the Metropolitan Building. The plaza was designed and sculpted by sculptor Zoran Mojsilov, whose piece white angel is the focal point of the plaza. Located at 26th Street and [[Nicollet Avenue]] in South [[Minneapolis]], the public square has a fountain and benches made from remnants of the historic structure.<ref>[http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2012/05/24/ice-house-plaza-opening-marks-new-era-eat-street Ice House Plaza opening] ''www.tcdailyplanet.net''. Retrieved: September 19, 2012.</ref>
==See also== *[[Gateway District (Minneapolis)]] *[[Hennepin Center for the Arts]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Metropolitan Building (Minneapolis)}} *[http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/1INT0814.jpg Roof garden of the Metropolitan Building] in a painting by [[William Allen Rogers]] '''Minnesota Historical Society''' *[http://search.mnhs.org/index.php?q=%22Metropolitan+Life%22+&brand=cms&imagesonly=yes The Metropolitan Building] '''Hennepin County Library''' *[http://digitalcollections.hclib.org/cdm/search/searchterm/%20Northwestern%20Guaranty%20Loan%20Building/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/order/title/ad/asc The Metropolitan Building] '''Article''' *[http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2006/06/07/erased-memory Erased from memory] at the [[Twin Cities Daily Planet]]. '''Videos''' *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEo1atQoJHc The Metropolitan Building 1961] *[http://vimeo.com/49186990 Ice House Plaza documentary 2012]
{{Buildings in Minneapolis timeline}}
[[Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1890]] [[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Minneapolis]] [[Category:Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Minnesota]] [[Category:1890 establishments in Minnesota]] [[Category:1961 disestablishments in Minnesota]] [[Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Minneapolis]] [[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1961]]