Wells Fargo Center (Minneapolis)

Wells Fargo Center
Wells Fargo Center
Former names	Norwest Center
General information
Status	Complete
Location	90 South Seventh Street Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°58′37″N 93°16′15″W / 44.97694°N 93.27083°W / 44.97694; -93.27083Coordinates: 44°58′37″N 93°16′15″W / 44.97694°N 93.27083°W / 44.97694; -93.27083
Construction started	1986; 31 years ago (1986)
Opening	1988; 29 years ago (1988)
Owner	Equity Office Properties Trust
Height
Antenna spire	774 ft (236 m)
Technical details
Floor count	57 (55 occupied)
Floor area	1,105,249 sq ft (102,681.0 m2)
Design and construction
Architect	César Pelli César Pelli & Associates Architects
Developer	Hines Interests Limited Partnership
Structural engineer	CBM Engineers
Main contractor	Schal Associates, Inc.

The Wells Fargo Center (90 South 7th St), formerly known as Norwest Center, is the third-tallest building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after the IDS Center and the Capella Tower. Completed in 1988, it is 774 feet (235.6 m) tall. For many years, this was believed to be one foot shorter than Capella, but that structure actually had a different height (see the IDS Center article for details). Norwest Center was designed with a modernized art deco style by César Pelli, reflecting nearby structures such as the nearby CenturyLink Building and the Foshay Tower, which is several blocks away. It is also considered by many to be a homage to the Comcast Building at New York City's Rockefeller Center.

Wells Fargo Center sits on the site of the old Northwestern National Bank Building, which was destroyed in a fire in 1982. Northwestern National, renamed Norwest Corporation, maintained its headquarters here. Despite Norwest's adoption of the Wells Fargo identity after acquiring the latter and moving to San Francisco in 1998, significant regional operations are still maintained in this building. Other major tenants include the law firm of Faegre Baker Daniels and the local office of accounting firm KPMG.

It is brilliantly lit at night from sunset through midnight, with floodlamps pointing up from the setback rooftops to illuminate the sides of the building. Despite this, it is still much more energy efficient than the previous building and in 2000, it was recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as one of the 100 most energy efficient buildings in the USA. In 1989, the building was praised by the Urban Land Institute, who honored it with their Award for Excellence in Large Scale Office Development. It is located at 90 South 7th Street. Gaviidae Common, a neighboring shopping center, was also designed by Pelli and built at the same time.