IDS Building

The IDS Center in Minneapolis is a striking office tower that has been considered the tallest building in the city and in the entire state of Minnesota since its completion in 1973. At 241 meters (791 feet), it towers over the skyline and originally served as the headquarters of Investors Diversified Services, now known as Ameriprise Financial. In the early 1970s, the complex also housed the headquarters of the Dayton Hudson Corporation, which was later renamed Target Corporation. The architecture of the 57-story tower was designed by Philip Johnson, who created a distinctive stepped design that earned it the nickname "zogs." This unusual construction allows each floor to offer up to 32 corner offices, which means plenty of daylight and sweeping views.

The complex consists of several interconnected buildings, including the tower itself, an eight-story annex, the 19-story Marquette Hotel, and a two-story retail building. These parts are linked by the seven-story Crystal Court, a covered shopping and lobby area that also serves as a skyway connection to the surrounding blocks. On the 50th floor, you can see the so-called "Windows at Marquette," four large ballrooms that once served as restaurants and clubs and are now used as banquet rooms for the hotel. There is also a special pop culture connection: the opening sequence of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was filmed on Nicollet Mall in front of the building. A statue commemorates that scene, and the hotel even has a table named after the show's main character.

Although the building is historically significant and was the 16th tallest building in the world in 1973, it was not free of technical challenges. The glass roof structure of the Crystal Court suffered from Minnesota's extreme freeze-thaw cycles, which led to water damage and falling chunks of ice. In the past, there were also debates about its exact height compared to the neighboring Capella Tower, since the official measurement varied depending on whether technical structures such as the window-washing garage or communications antennas were included. Today, the tower holds more than 120,000 square meters (about 1.3 million square feet) of office and retail space and is home to numerous prestigious law firms and companies.