Which Downtown Buildings are the Tallest in Rochester?

With word earlier this week that our local downtown skyline will be changing again, it got me thinking about just which buildings are the tallest here in Rochester.

The Silver Lake Power Plant, and its almost 300-foot tall chimney, has been a feature of the Rochester skyline since 1968. But RPU said earlier this week that, seeing as the plant went offline back in 2013, that structure now has a date with the wrecking ball sometime earlier this summer.

Which means the Rochester skyline will be changing again. But just which buildings are the tallest here in Minnesota's Med City?

The Gonda Building might be a good guess, with its 21 floors. (There's also a plan in the future to add an expansion that would add an additional 12 floors, including a new luxury hotel, which would put it at 32 floors, easily making it downtown Rochester's tallest building.) But that plan is on hold right now, as thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. So right now, it's actually NOT the tallest.

In fact, the Gonda Building actually the second-tallest building downtown. So just what are the other buildings that make up the tallest in Rochester's ever-expanding skyline?

According to this list, the title of Rochester's tallest building goes to the Broadway Plaza building. Then the Gonda, followed by the historic Plummer Building (which, according to Mayo Clinic, is a full 15 floors), then the Mayo Building, and finally the new Broadway at Center Hilton, which is right next to the Broadway Plaza.

But back to the Gonda Building. When it's finished, the expansion will make it top out at 490 feet. So how does it compare to buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul? The IDS Center has 57 floors and at 792 feet is the tallest in Minneapolis. So we're still smaller.

But check this out: Over in St. Paul, Wells Fargo Place in St. Paul is the tallest building there-- but it's 'only' 471 feet tall, so our new Gonda Building will beat that by nearly 20 feet. Woo hoo! Go Rochester! Cray Plaza in St. Paul, though, still has the most floors, coming in at 46.

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