Foshay Museum and Observation Deck

The staff went above and beyond assisting our special needs.
We visited the Foshay Towers with someone who has special needs. Right from the start the manager Matthew VandenBerg was very pleasant and accommodating. Even though our visit caused extra work on the parts of the Foshay Staff they were all very courteous and helpful. We would not have been able to see the top had it not been for their assistance.
If you are going to visit Minneapolis, you do not want to miss the Foshay Tower, the ambience within and the view from the top are superb.
Make sure to take advantage of the free telescopes positioned on the corners of the observation deck!
We really enjoyed the history and photos in the museum as well.
Want a clever picture? If you look through the telescope and wave, you can see your own reflection on the opposite building!
Also try putting your camera lens up to the eye hole on the telescopes.
You might want to bring a selfie stick as well, but hold on tight!

This is an awesome tourist spot or fun for Minne natives, too.
I’m terrified of heights but I’m glad I braved my fears. There’s a really neat, small museum at the top and it was nice refuge when the heights on the deck were overwhelming to me. The views are spectacular, of course in this age they’re not unimpeded but it’s still worth it to see the view from this 1930s art deco historic building.
The elevators are gorgeous as is the lobby. The employees were polite and we parked on the street. They sell a few shirts at the top and I bought a really cool one for $ 15!

BREATHTAKING. Gosh this place is so beautiful. The hotel it is is is pretty. The museum part of it is SOOO historic and informational. I think the place is amazing and I am so glad I went there on my trip. The view is so pretty to see the whole city. Would go back, great time and great memories. I have so many wonderful pictures!

Was wondering if I would get my $ 8 worth and I feel like I did. The story is fascinating past and present, but I kind of geek out most of the time. I think that’s why I go alone. Yes, the museum is small but I watched two of the mini movies and took my time and I was there for about 35 – 40 min. I would recommend. A little chilly today otherwise I would have probably observed more on the observation deck.

The Foshay has a lot of history and was actually on my list of places to check out while visiting, however I have to admit that getting here was a bit of a challenge. Why you ask, well the tickets to the museum and observation desk are sold at the W Hotel lobby.
Ticket prices are reasonable at $ 8/​person and once you purchase your ticket from the a hotel employee you are given a keycard that grants you access to the 30^th floor which is home to the museum. I have to admit that the history of this building was pretty unique, however the museum was rather disappointing yet it was still a great learning experience. The real part of this is the observation desk, which is only accessible by taking a flight of stairs from the 30^th floor up. Once outside you can walk around the outside on the narrow walkway. There are 4 sets of binoculars on each corner of the building allowing you to take a closer look at the surroundings, however it’s not needed as the Foshay already offers some great views of the smaller buildings, but also offers you something to look up at with some of the newer larger buildings surrounding it.
The Foshay is an amazing Art Deco styled building built in 1929 and modeled after the Washington Monument, it sits at 447ft tall, which pales in comparison to some of the newer buildings surrounding it however they all lack the artistic styling of this classic building. The building bears a striking resemblance to the Washington Monument with the sides of the building sloping slightly inward as it approaches the top, this means that each floor is smaller than the one below it. I would recommend making a stop at this observation desk, however be advised if you are afraid of heights this might not be for you.

The split is Observation deck great… museum just so-​so. The museum is a very small collection of things related to the tower plus some really random pictures of Minneapolis up to about 1950. The background on Foshay-​the-​man is especially weak. Other than some digital displays it doesn’t look like it’s been updated in decades. It’s worth going for the observation deck but the museum needs work.

This small gem was discovered by my boyfriend as he was searching for things to do before we had to catch a flight back home. It was only $ 8 a person to tour the small museum at the top of the tower. While small, the museum had many great artifacts related to the Foshay’s interesting history. It was neat to take a look back in time to the Roaring 20’s and to learn of Wilbur Foshay, the man behind the tower.
The observation deck was a thrilling experience. It was a chilly 23 degree day when I visited and the wind was a little intense but still worth seeing the stunning views below.
If you’re looking to kill an hour, check out Foshay Tower!

Everyone thinks that the Foshay is just the hotel but unknown to many that it holds a small museum at the top along with a observation deck!
I got a chance to go with my handy dandy student ID. (p.s you can go for free by checking out a pass at the library). Its worth the small price if you haven’t gone.
Go to the hotel desk ask them about the museum they tell you to use the special elevator with the hotel key they give you that leads to the top and BAM when you get off your in the museum.
Yes its small but they have tons of facts and small video you can watch when your done taking in all the info go to the stairs and walk out make sure its not a windy day because you will regret that (its chilly!) but the view is gorgeous!

I was in town on a business trip and knew next to nothing about Minneapolis — what better way to learn about a city than to visit the local museums!
I really enjoyed this tiny museum located at the tippy-​top of the fabulous Foshay Tower (now owned by the W hotel people). The cases are filled with interesting articles and artifacts from the history of the building including a fascinating account of the downfall of Foshay’s financial empire during the Stock Market crash — he was kind of the Bernie Madoff of his day I guess. The story gets even more interesting when you read about the letters people wrote protesting Foshay’s imprisonment for fraud and the suicide of a juror who had lied about her association with Foshay. Love this stuff!
They have two interactive touch screen TV’s that play the same program in different parts of the museum. The sound was is a bit low on one — and my fellow visitors a bit gregarious which made it impossible to hear, so I found quieter seating in the back corner of the museum. I loved the films on the history and subsequent restoration of the Foshay fascinating! My only suggestion would be that they should look into captioning the programs for those times that there is a lot of hubbub in the galleries.
The observation deck was cool! Minneapolis stretches out from the Foshay as far as one can see — when you can look beyond the newer highrises that now surround the Tower downtown. There are free telescopes at each corner of the building to peer through and the views are pretty great. I particularly liked peeking in on the urban pocket parks built into the high-​rise complexes that sat below. Nifty!

It’s pretty cool, but having been on top of Eiffel tower and top of the rock, NYC– this one is okay.

Foshay? Fo Sure.
At only 30 floors up, it’s not the highest view you can get anywhere, but it’s certainly one of the most unique.
It really is a shame more people don’t know about this cool little spot in Minneapolis. But that might be a good thing because the observation deck is actually pretty small and narrow, so it’d be difficult to enjoy if it was too crowded. But yes, it’s a neat little spot that boasts a great view and it’s definitely a MUST VISIT if you’re a fan of Art Deco architecture.
Visiting is a breeze once you know a few things and what you can expect.
1. The Foshay is now the W Hotel. So in order to get «tickets» for admission you just need to walk into the beautifully renovated Art Deco lobby all the way back to the hotel’s front desks. You can’t miss them under the pink neon lighting.
2. Admission to the observation deck and museum on the 30^th floor is $ 8 for adults. $ 5 for teens and Seniors. Kids under 12 are free.
3. Once you pay your admission the front desk staff will give you an elevator key card and will direct you to the old timey Art Deco elevator. There you just insert the key card into a special slot and it will «unlock» the access button to the 30^th floor.
4. Once you get up to the 30^th floor you walk right into a neat little museum that has old photographs of the city and short videos showing the history of the Foshay tower.
5. When you’re ready, find the short flight of stairs up to the observation deck, go through a small door and there you are, outside in the narrow «hall» of the observation deck feeling the Minneapolis breeze at 30 floors up. And by breeze I mean intense winds. Well, at least it was super windy on the day we went. Just be prepared for you know, weather because you’ll be outside. (I know, no-​duh but still).
You can walk around the narrow deck in a square to get see in all 4 directions. The walls themselves are sturdy and high, so that helps if you’re not great with heights. They are, however, too high for small children to see over. Each corner of the deck has a couple of steps up to view finders so you can get an even more extensive view of the beautiful city.
Once you are done taking in the view or poking around the museum you just go back down and return the elevator key card to the front desk.
Just a note, our key card did not actually work, but after holding up the elevator for a few minutes, the guy who actually works in the museum shop walked into the elevator after a coffee run and used his key to get us up there. He was extremely helpful and nice.

Wow, only two reviews so far. This place is awesome!
It seems like this observation deck and museum are sort of under-​appreciated, at least there should be more awareness of this attraction for tourists, I would think. Yet, you never really hear about it.
When I went in the middle of a weekday afternoon, I was one of the only people there. It’s a weird and cool thing to get your keycard downstairs and then come out of an elevator into this kooky little museum. There’s some really great artifacts, pictures and information in that little space, though. Then you step outside and it is a little striking how tiny and narrow the walkway is. But the views are excellent and you can literally see for miles and miles and it gives you an appreciation and perspective on things that you wouldn’t get elsewhere.
I definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone.

I think every resident of the Twin Cities, and especially visitors should go up to the observation deck of the Foshay Tower. I’ve been up in alot of skyscrapers and monuments all across the country and this, while on a smaller scale has a similiar feel to being being atop the Empire State Building. It’s the best positioned Skyscraper we have as far as views go, no longer the tallest building in the city but it is so centrally located in the skyline that practically everything can be seen from here. Because of the way everything appears when you’re atop the Foshay you’d swear you were in a city much larger than Minneapolis.
Another nice thing is that it feels as solid as the Empire State Building which for me is an important feature in being able to enjoy a view from atop a tall building. As far as I know this is the only observation deck in Downtown Minneapolis, if you’re familiar with the Foshay the deck level is just below the pyramid that crowns the building. You’d be amazed at just how high up you actually are, for example the 3 tallest buildings Downtown, IDS Center, Wells Fargo Tower, and the Capella Tower look like their within arms reach from the Foshay’s observation deck.
I’m really glad the building was recently converted into a hotel, it is a much better fit than the offices that were previously housed in the Foshay. What a great job they did in restoring the lobby to its original appearance as well (love Art Deco). An absolutely amazing place, and something that offers fun without consuming your entire afternoon. This is a really good starting point for a Downtown tour.