1932 – Qwest Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Designed by Rhodes Robertson of the Minneapolis firm of Hewitt & Brown, the Qwest Building is characteristic of American skyscraper design between the world wars, with subdued horizontal lines and an emphasized verticality. This effect is amplified by the dull-finish aluminum covering the spandrels between the tops and bottoms of all windows, resulting in light and dark vertical stripes which give an upward movement to the design. Previously known as the Northwestern Bell Building, it originally stood 346 feet tall, but grew to 416 feet with the addition of the rooftop antenna structure/penthouse in 1958, to the designs of Magney, Tusler & Setter.