History

The site’s first major structure, the Merchants Bank Building, was completed in 1916—at 228 feet, the tallest building in Saint Paul until it was overtaken by the very tower built to replace it. When Merchants National Bank merged with First National Bank, the decision was made to construct an entirely new skyscraper rising from the same block. Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, who had already defined the scale of American commercial architecture with buildings like the Wrigley Building and the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, won the commission. The project encountered an unusual obstacle: both the First National Bank Building and the Empire State Building broke ground in 1930, and the concurrent demand for steel, glass, and finish materials created supply shortages that slowed construction in Saint Paul.

The building was completed in 1931, its total cost of $3,340,185 recorded in 1932 accounts. Among its most celebrated features was the skyway bridge connecting the 17th floor to the adjacent Merchants Bank Building tower—a pedestrian link between two skyscrapers at altitude that anticipated by decades the extensive Minneapolis–Saint Paul skyway network now stretching through both downtowns. The building held its position as Saint Paul’s tallest from 1931 until 1986, when it was overtaken by the Galtier Plaza (now Cray Plaza). The building is eligible for but has not yet been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.