The Foshay Soiree: A Roaring 20’s Restoration

Friday, August 22, 2008

6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Tickets: $50 per person for Alliance members / $60 for nonmembers

Proceeds benefit the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota

Mark your calendar now to be one of the first to celebrate the restoration of Minnesota’s beloved Foshay Tower, reopening in July as the W Hotel. Join the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota at its annual sneak-peek fundraising event, where we bring you up close and personal with the latest preservation successes in our state.

Were you at the Westin?? The Foshay Soiree is modeled on the Alliance’s successful 2007 “Banking on Preservation” fundraiser, the first event held inside the restored Farmers & Mechanics Bank Building in Minneapolis, now the Westin Hotel. Our members and friends loved this event so much, they asked for another–what better place than the Foshay?

Be on the inside–tour, savor, dance, and bid (and all for a good cause!). Go behind the scenes with special VIP tours. Devour signature hors d’oeuvres to the background sounds of a live band. You’re the star on this dance floor after taking lessons from The Swing Cats, or sit back and watch as you bid on a range of swank auction items.

When can I buy tickets? Watch our website, but we expect to have tickets on sale beginning in July.

How can I support this event? Sponsorship opportunities are available, or make a donation to the auction. Contact Bonnie McDonald at bmcdonald@mnpreservation.org for more information.

The Foshay Tower, designed by Leon Eugene Arnal of the firm of Magney & Tusler, was completed in 1929. One of the city’s signature Art Deco jewels, its ceremonious opening was soon overshadowed by the stock market crash. Credited as “the first skyscraper west of the Mississippi,” the 32-story Foshay and its mast antenna have been a fixture of the Minneapolis skyline. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Work began in 2007 to convert the office tower into a W Hotel through the vision of developers Ralph Burnet and Ryan Companies US and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Proceeds from this event support the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, the statewide nonprofit working to protect historic places like the Foshay. We would like to thank Ralph Burnet, Ryan Companies US, and the W Hotel for making the Foshay Tower available for this event.