Soo Line Building

The Soo Line Building is a 19-story residential highrise in Minneapolis, Minnesota which was the tallest commercial building in the city from the time it was completed in 1915 until the Foshay Tower was built in 1929. It was built for the First National Bank of Minneapolis, a predecessor of today's U.S. Bancorp (U.S. Bank). It later served for many years as headquarters of the Soo Line Railroad, which added an iconic clock to the corner of the building's street level. For commercial purposes, it was sometimes referred to by its address, 501 Marquette. It surpassed the Metropolitan Building in height, though Minneapolis City Hall was the tallest building in the city from the 1900s decade until the Foshay was completed. The building is located across Marquette Avenue from 510 Marquette, the original Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 2008.

The Canadian Pacific Railway became a majority shareholder in the Soo Line Railroad in 1890 and outright purchased the company in 1990; the Calgary-based railway's U.S. headquarters then took over the space for its 400 employees. In 2011, the building was purchased by Michigan-based developer Village Green Properties for $11.3 million; after the commercial tenants were relocated, Village Green began conversion of the property in October 2012 into a 254-unit luxury apartment building with street-level restaurant, scheduled for completion in Fall 2013.

In front of that building is the Nicollet Mall station of the Blue and Green light rail lines. Adjacent is Canadian Pacific Plaza, renamed after the Canadian Pacific Railroad moved in after vacating the Soo Line Building.

External links

• Soo Line Building at the Hennepin County Library.
• Soo Line Building at the Minnesota Historical Society.