Wilbur Foshay was a 1920s businessman who made his fortune buying and selling utility companies. He celebrated himself with the construction of this tower in 1929. It is the size and shape of the Washington Monument. Near the top Foshay had his name is chiseled into each side in 10-foot letters. He left Minneapolis for Salida, Colorado when the stock market crashed in 1929.
Alas his gains were ill-gotten, as he had operated a pyramid scheme with his companies. He was tried in 1932, convicted, and sentenced to 15 years in Leavenworth. He only served three years, though, because Franklin Roosevelt commuted 10 years of his sentence, and he had two more years deducted for good behavior. He then settled in Colorado, where he continued a career as a shameless promoter until his death in 1957. His tower was the tallest building in Minneapolis until it was surpassed 1974. It now houses a posh hotel. $10 gets one a ticket to an observation deck, which disappoints my having only small square portholes for viewing. Here are views in each direction from the tower. I liked the reflections off the irregular glass tower across the street in the third photo. The last photo looks east—it’s pretty flat out there. https://rickwomer.smugmug.com/Oct2022/2022-10/Minneapolis-10-22/Foshay-Tower-View/ <https://rickwomer.smugmug.com/Oct2022/2022-10/Minneapolis-10-22/Foshay-Tower-View/> Comments always appreciated! Rick -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
