Looming over the Minneapolis skyline, the Qwest tower’s creepy pinnacle has a cold-war chic / Wizard of Oz thing going on. Though not even close to making the list of the tallest buildings in Minneapolis, the Qwest tower has it’s place in Minneapolis mythology.

Minneapolis has one very unique geological attribute — it’s in the middle of the far North. Thus, it is safe from invasion. A lot of the cold-war infrastructure is up here, hidden in plain sight, and this baby is one of them. Also on this list are refineries, munition factories, and a lot of things I don’t think I should talk about. Relics from a recently-bygone era, but still extremely valuable.

My uncle used to work in the Qwest tower and gave me a tour one day. As a preeminent technophile, I loved seeing the inside of this place, but it soon terrified me. The amount of equipment in this place is astounding. Most of the tower is like a dense university library, only the shelves are network racks.

This photo was designed to reflect my opinion of the place. I zoomed in on the odd pinnacle and cropped it in a way to emphasize the geometric simplicity of it. I blew out the sky and emphasized the contrast of the building to make it as stark and edgy as possible. Like a dragon poking it’s horns over the treetops: sizing up the villagers below. Maybe I should bring a sacrificial goat and leave it in the lobby today.