 Wilbur Foshay , an owner of several utility companies , built the Foshay Tower in 1929 , just before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 . The building was the tallest building in Minnesota at the time . It remained the tallest building in Minneapolis until 1973 , when the IDS Tower surpassed it . The tower was a symbol of the wealth of the times , but when the stock market crashed , Foshay lost his fortune in the crash . 
