One of the most peculiar buildings in town. The Minneapolis city's website says:

Reminiscent of an ancient Mesopotamian temple, the former Second Church of Christ Scientist Tower represents a rare example of the Ziggurat form of architecture in Minneapolis. Adapted to an urban setting, the Tower was constructed in 1930 to house the administrative offices, classrooms, and reading rooms for the Second Church of Christ Scientist. The tower was originally the first phase of a master plan for a new church. It was intended to be one of four towers surrounding the main church building.

The plan was abandoned and the tower subsequently sold in 1965. After conversion into office rental space, it was renamed the Ivy Tower. The master plan was the design of the nationally prominent architect Thomas R. Kimball, known for his design of the Trans Mississippi and the International Exposition. Kimball chose exposed concrete with a contex surfaced finish for the exterior.

An innovation at the time, I'm sure, but close up it looks like it got a bad makeover in the 60s.

People are usually surprised to learn it was the first of four towers. Alone, it's a quirky little thing; with three others around a dome, it wouldn't be the same thing at all. You'd never see it like this, never think of it as a discrete object.

It was threatened for years, but eventually someone decided to incorporate it into a new development.

Alas . . .