Quiz: How well do you know the names of downtown Minneapolis buildings?

October 12, 2018 at 5:16PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Building names seem to change with ever-increasing frequency. Put your noggin to the test and see if you can correctly guess the current names of these prominent buildings in downtown Minneapolis. (Scroll to the end for the answers)

1. U.S. Bank Plaza, an early-1980s tower sheathed with Travertine stone and glass, was originally called:

A. Pillsbury Center

B. Specific Mills Centre

C. General Mills Center

D. 1 Doughboy Place

2. Now known as SPS Tower, this handsome 1987 structure was supposed to be one of two identical towers. The second was never built. What was its name?

A. 333 South Seventh Street

B. Accenture

C. Lincoln Center

D. All of the above

3. Capella Tower is part of a complex that includes the Star Tribune Building. What was it called when it opened in 1992?

A. First Federal Place

B. First National Place

C. First Bank Place

D. First and Foremost Place

4. Still the tallest building Minneapolis, the IDS has kept its name since it was completed in 1972. The letters stand for:

A. Investors Diversified Services

B. Institutional Delivery Services

C. International Doctor Savers

D. Incremental Dog Shavers

5. Its plaza is known by food truck fans as the best lunch seating downtown, this building's exterior signage says:

A. 1st Bank

B. Canadian Pacific Plaza

C. Alerus D. A and B

E. B and C

6. The Rand Tower is named for the man who put up the money to build it, Rufus Rand, a famed World War I aviator. For a while, it was known as:

A. The Payne Tower

B. The Dain Tower

C. Raine, Spain and Plain, Attorneys at Law

D. Browntree Mortgage Center

7. The Northwestern National Life Building, an elegant modern version of an ancient Roman temple, was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, architect of the original World Trade Center. What is it called now?

A. ING 20 Washington

B. Voya Financial

C. YOLO Advisors

D. INGSOC Casualty and Life

8. While it's one of the tallest buildings downtown, it never attracted much attention because its look is dull. Now called 33 South Sixth, it was:

A. Maltimeal Tower

B. International Multifoods Tower

C. 33 Sixth South

D. City Center Place

ANSWERS

1. A, Pillsbury Center

2. D, All of the above

3. C, First Bank Place

4. A, Investors Diversified Services

5. E, Canadian Pacific Plaza and Alerus

6. B, The Dain Tower

7. B, Voya Financial

8. B, International Multifoods Tower

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(Tom Horgen — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(Tom Horgen — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(Tom Horgen/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(Tom Horgen — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(Tom Horgen — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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about the writer

James Lileks

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James Lileks is a Star Tribune columnist.

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