The Lumber Exchange Building was the first

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

built in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, United States, dating to 1885. It was designed in the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesq ...

style by Franklin B. Long and Frederick Kees and was billed as one of the first fireproof buildings in the country. It is the oldest high-rise building standing in Minneapolis, and is the oldest building outside of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

with 12 or more floors. Franklin Long had formerly worked with

Charles F. Haglin Charles F. Haglin (April 7, 1849 – February 23, 1921) was an architect, engineer, and contractor notable for his work in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Life and career Haglin was born in Hastings, New York to a farming family. He attended loc ...

, while Frederick Kees had worked with Leroy Buffington for about four years. The partnership of Long and Kees, lasting from 1884 to 1897, was particularly successful and led to the construction of many of the largest buildings in the city in the 1880s and 1890s. Other buildings by these partners included the Public Library (1884), Masonic Temple (1888) (now the Hennepin Center for the Arts), Flour Exchange (1893–1897),

Minneapolis City Hall Minneapolis City Hall and Hennepin County Courthouse (also known as the Municipal Building), designed by Long and Kees in 1888, is the main building used by the city government of Minneapolis, as well as by Hennepin County, in the U.S. state of M ...

(1889), and the Kasota Block (1884). The building was built in multiple stages. Originally a tall, thin structure, an additional wing was added in 1890. Later, two stories were added at the top of the building. James Lileks, Minneapolis writer and architectural critic, says, The Lumber Exchange Building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1983.

References

External links

Lumber Exchange Building
at the Hennepin County Library
Lumber Exchange Building
at the Minnesota Historical Society {{Buildings in Minneapolis timeline Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Commodity exchanges in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Minnesota Skyscraper office buildings in Minneapolis Office buildings completed in 1885