perceived as dying. Urban planners, such as Le Corbusier, were advocating radically rebuilding downtowns by complete rebuilding and forcing out manufacturing and warehousing. The Federal Housing Act of 1949 provided funding for clearing blighted areas, and city officials interpreted the definition of "blighted" liberally. The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 provided funding for an interstate highway system, which would also transform Minneapolis. The Gateway district, centered around the intersection of Hennepin and Nicollet Avenues just west of the Mississippi River, was the major casualty of urban renewal. The neighborhood had become known as a slum with cheap hotels and flophouses. When General Mills announced in 1955 that they were moving their corporate headquarters to Golden Valley, city planners decided to implement a large-scale Gateway district plan that included demolishing a large number of buildings. Between 1957 and 1965, one-third of downtown Minneapolis had been leveled, including the Metropolitan Building and Kasota building. Freeway construction had its impact on the city, with neighborhoods disrupted and housing stock lost. Between 1963 and 1975, Interstate 35W from the south border of the city to its northeastern corner, Interstate 94 from the St. Paul border into downtown, and the Crosstown (County Road 62, later to become Minnesota State Highway 62) on the southern boundary of Minneapolis were built. The remaining portion of Interstate 94, from U.S. Highway 12 to the northern boundary of the city, was completed in 1982. Highway 12 was later rebuilt to Interstate standards in 1992, at which point it was renumbered Interstate 394. Several proposed projects never were built, though. Minnesota State Highway 55, running southeast from downtown to the Fort Snelling area and the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, was slated to become a freeway, but the upgrade was canceled due to neighborhood opposition. Similarly, a proposed Interstate 335 was to run from Interstate 35W in northeast Minneapolis to a connection with Interstate 94 just north of downtown. This project was also canceled due to neighborhood opposition. Modern Minneapolis Shaping the skyline While the destruction of the Gateway district left a large gap in downtown Minneapolis, other developments would reshape it and transform the skyline. One of these developments was the building of the Nicollet Mall in 1968. Previously known as Nicollet Avenue, the portion within the central business became a tree-lined mall for pedestrians and transit. The mall forms a kind of linear park, with trees and fountains