Midtown Exchange facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Midtown Exchange |
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Sears, Roebuck and Company Mail-Order Warehouse and Retail Store
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The Midtown Exchange from the west
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| Location | 2929 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | George Nimmons and Company |
| Architectural style | Moderne / Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 05000745 |
| Added to NRHP | July 29, 2005 |
The Midtown Exchange is a really big building in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's in a neighborhood called Midtown Phillips. It's the second biggest building in all of Minnesota! Only the Mall of America is larger.
This building was first built in 1928. It used to be a huge store and mail-order center for Sears. Sears stayed there until 1994. After Sears left, the building was empty for many years. But in 2005, it was changed into a place for many different businesses and homes. The Midtown Exchange is so important that it's on the National Register of Historic Places.
Building History
The first part of the Midtown Exchange was built in 1928. It was located along Elliot Avenue and Lake Street. More parts were added in 1929, 1964, and 1979. This made the building huge, with over 1.2 million square feet of space. A tall tower in the middle is 16 floors high, reaching 211 feet.
After Sears closed its store here in 1994, the building was empty. Many ideas for what to do with it came and went. In 2001, the city of Minneapolis bought the building. They sold part of it in 2002 to Abbott Northwestern Hospital for a parking ramp.
Two years later, a company called Ryan Companies got the job to redevelop the site. Their plan was to turn the building into a place with many uses. It would have about 300 homes, plus office and shopping areas. In 2004, Allina Health decided to move their main offices into the building. This filled most of the office space.
What's Inside Today?
Today, the Midtown Exchange has different types of homes. The Chicago Lofts are on floors 9 to 16. The Midtown Exchange Apartments are on floors 2 to 8.
The building also has the Midtown Global Market. This market is a fun place with many small restaurants and unique grocery stores. It also hosts community events like music, dance, and activities for kids. A new Sheraton Hotel was built next to the Midtown Exchange. Both the building and the hotel have direct access to the Midtown Greenway, a popular path for biking and walking.
Similar Buildings Around the Country
The Midtown Exchange has a "sister" building called the Landmark Center in Boston. Both were built in the 1920s and look very similar. They were both old Sears warehouses that have been updated for new uses. This is called adaptive reuse, which means giving an old building a new purpose.
Many other old Sears warehouses have also been given new life. These include buildings in Atlanta (built 1925), Chicago (1906), Dallas (1910), North Kansas City (1913), and Seattle (1912).
Some other old Sears buildings are still being renovated. These include the 1927 Sears Mail Order Building in Los Angeles and the Crosstown Concourse (1927) in Memphis. Sadly, some similar Sears warehouses in Philadelphia (1919) and Kansas City (1925) were torn down in the 1990s.
Images for kids
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Midtown Global Market
