LUMBER EXCHANGE BUILDING

Built in 1885 by Long & Kees in a Richardsonian Romanesque style, the Lumber Exchange Building was the first skyscraper in Minneapolis. Today, it is the city's oldest building. This massive structure was also famous for being one of the few to be fireproof. Thanks to its strategic location and energy-generating waterfalls, Minneapolis, along with the Lumber Exchange Building, became a focal point for the local and national lumber trade, before the industry declined.