Mid Mod Marvel: Northwestern National Life Building, designed by Minoru Yamasaki. In-Person, Guided Tours – Thursday, June 4, 2026; 4:30-6:45pm.
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Photos courtesy Morgan Sheff
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Join Docomomo US/MN to tour the Northwestern National Life Building designed by Minoru Yamasaki, built in 1965.
The Northwestern National Life Building was constructed to replace the Northwestern National Life Insurance Company Home Office near Loring Park, which had become too small for the number of employees in the company. The building features an 85 foot portico that serves as the visual terminus for the Nicollet Mall. Yamasaki's touches also included reflective pools and landscaping, and he claimed he was designing "a park with a building in it".
Minoru Yamasaki designed 8 buildings in Minnesota between 1958 and 1981. These years span the most productive and successful period of Yamasaki’s work, bookended by the construction of Pruitt Igoe in 1954 and the opening of the World Trade Center in 1973.
Local developer Chad Tepley of CDT Realty purchased the building and is planning a 165-room boutique hotel with rooftop bar, restaurants, and public spaces intended for cultural events. Tepley is currently in the process of getting the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which could unlock tax credits for the project. He expects a summer of 2028 opening.
This is an in-person, guided tour! Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Guests must choose a tour time upon registration. Please plan to arrive 10 minutes before your entry time:
4:30pm
5:15pm
6:00pm
Tickets now on sale!
https://mid-mod-marvel-northwestern-national-life-building.eventbrite.com
Docomomo US/MN members: $8
General admission tickets: $22
To unlock discounted member tickets, please enter your member email address in the 'Promo Code' field of the Eventbrite ticket window. Members may add up to four discounted tickets per registered email address.
Transportation is on your own, or with a friend or two!
Limited Free Parking is available in the building lot located on S. Marquette Avenue between Washington Avenue S and S. 2nd Street. Metered street parking is also available on S. Marquette Avenue.
Please meet the group in the outdoor atrium of the Washington Ave S. side of the building.
Minoru Yamasaki (1912-1986)
Perhaps best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City, Minoru Yamasaki designed 8 buildings in Minnesota between 1958-81. Six were for Carleton College in Northfield, the other two were for the Northwestern National Life Insurance Co. in Minneapolis (this building and the tower addition behind it). Born in Seattle, Yamasaki attended the University of Washington (BArch) and NYU (MArch) before eventually settling in Detroit. His work quickly developed from austere modernism to adapt Asian and Gothic styles and lush materials into what became known as New Formalism, epitomized by the Northwestern National Life Building.
Northwestern National Life Building
Hailed as a landmark since its completion, this six-story, 220,000 ft² headquarters is elevated by the dignified colonnade wrapping it. The 85-foot columns, faced with white quartz concrete, flare out at the cornice. Large panels of Vermont verde-antique marble, set into the voids of the arches, use a book-leaf pattern to create an extravagant effect, amplified with knowledge that these panels are part of a structural wall system. The large portico creates a continuous visual line down Nicollet Mall to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.
In 1954, the Northwestern National Life Insurance Co. (NWNL, est. 1885) announced plans for a new building by Bde Maka Ska to replace its Loring Park headquarters and consolidate operations spread over five locations. Neighborhood resistance made them back down (the site was sold and became St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church). Redevelopment of the Gateway Center opened up a pivotal site at the entrance to the city, and NWNL hired Yamasaki in Fall 1961.
Upon seeing the site, Yamasaki said it demanded "an inspiring and monumental building as a climax." His widely published design was described as "A Temple for Insurance" by Architectural Forum and copied (sometimes flagrantly) by others across the county. When ground broke in April 1963, Yamasaki said the design intends to be "appropriate to an office building, monumental and dignified, yet graceful" and described the portico as "a delicate porch, a totally different thing from the solidity of the walls of Nicollet Avenue" and felt it would be "exciting to walk through this space." Creating a park-like atmosphere was important to his design, using landscaping and reflective pools to create "a park with a building in it."
The completed building earned rave reviews. The Minneapolis Star ran an editorial that "NWNL Should Take a Big Bow." The Minneapolis Tribune wrote Yamasaki fulfilled his "chief aim of architecture-to create serenity, surprise, and delight." It was published in architectural magazines, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Times of London among others. Decades later, critic Larry Millet called it "a high point of 1960s modernism in Minneapolis."
The growing company commissioned Yamasaki again to design the adjacent 22-story, "companion building" now known as 100 Washington Square (1980-81); it defers to its neighbor while also using matching marble on the ground levels.
Perhaps best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City, Minoru Yamasaki designed 8 buildings in Minnesota between 1958-81. Six were for Carleton College in Northfield, the other two were for the Northwestern National Life Insurance Co. in Minneapolis (this building and the tower addition behind it). Born in Seattle, Yamasaki attended the University of Washington (BArch) and NYU (MArch) before eventually settling in Detroit. His work quickly developed from austere modernism to adapt Asian and Gothic styles and lush materials into what became known as New Formalism, epitomized by the Northwestern National Life Building.
Northwestern National Life Building
Hailed as a landmark since its completion, this six-story, 220,000 ft² headquarters is elevated by the dignified colonnade wrapping it. The 85-foot columns, faced with white quartz concrete, flare out at the cornice. Large panels of Vermont verde-antique marble, set into the voids of the arches, use a book-leaf pattern to create an extravagant effect, amplified with knowledge that these panels are part of a structural wall system. The large portico creates a continuous visual line down Nicollet Mall to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge.
In 1954, the Northwestern National Life Insurance Co. (NWNL, est. 1885) announced plans for a new building by Bde Maka Ska to replace its Loring Park headquarters and consolidate operations spread over five locations. Neighborhood resistance made them back down (the site was sold and became St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church). Redevelopment of the Gateway Center opened up a pivotal site at the entrance to the city, and NWNL hired Yamasaki in Fall 1961.
Upon seeing the site, Yamasaki said it demanded "an inspiring and monumental building as a climax." His widely published design was described as "A Temple for Insurance" by Architectural Forum and copied (sometimes flagrantly) by others across the county. When ground broke in April 1963, Yamasaki said the design intends to be "appropriate to an office building, monumental and dignified, yet graceful" and described the portico as "a delicate porch, a totally different thing from the solidity of the walls of Nicollet Avenue" and felt it would be "exciting to walk through this space." Creating a park-like atmosphere was important to his design, using landscaping and reflective pools to create "a park with a building in it."
The completed building earned rave reviews. The Minneapolis Star ran an editorial that "NWNL Should Take a Big Bow." The Minneapolis Tribune wrote Yamasaki fulfilled his "chief aim of architecture-to create serenity, surprise, and delight." It was published in architectural magazines, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Times of London among others. Decades later, critic Larry Millet called it "a high point of 1960s modernism in Minneapolis."
The growing company commissioned Yamasaki again to design the adjacent 22-story, "companion building" now known as 100 Washington Square (1980-81); it defers to its neighbor while also using matching marble on the ground levels.
Photos courtesy Morgan Sheff
About Docomomo US/MN Series of Mid Mod Marvel Tours:
Docomomo US/MN seeks to highlight Mid-Century Modern properties across Minnesota that have been sensitively preserved or adapted for contemporary use.
The Mid Mod Marvel series of tours are pop-up events that showcase the stewards of Modernism in the present day – the efforts of homeowners, architects, designers and builders to shepherd modern design into our new century.
The Mid Mod Marvel series of tours are pop-up events that showcase the stewards of Modernism in the present day – the efforts of homeowners, architects, designers and builders to shepherd modern design into our new century.
