Business was booming along Lake’s streetcar commercial strip when Sears, Roebuck and Company decided to build in South Minneapolis.After the ideal site was selected, Architect George Nimmons was commissioned to design a mail order and retail store. The building’s focal point, a 16 story tower facing Elliot Avenue was lit up with enormous neon letters visible from both ends of Lake Street. Sears saw the future and cleared the land for plenty of parking. When the building opened in March of 1928, the place employed nearly 2000 workers. This enormous operation was expanded in 1929, 1964, and 1979. The complex is still one of the largest buildings in Minnesota, containing over 1.2 million square feet of indoor space.
Sears, Roebuck & Co. began major restructuring efforts in the 1970’s that moved a variety operations from Minneapolis to Chicago. Business at the Lake Street Sears declined for the next twenty years or so and the store closed in 1994. The pace sat empty for nearly a decade and then an outfit called Ryan Companies took a bid to redevelop the site. The 192 million dollar project won federal support for preservation efforts and the building was listed National Register of Historic Places. These days the old Sears contains the Allina Health, Midtown Global Market, housing, and a hotel.
