The success of One Hundred Washington Square was made possible, in part, by another successful project completed in 1964, 15 years earlier. At that time, the Northwestern National Life Insurance Company (NWNLIC) retained our firm, Minoru Yamasaki and Associates, as architects for a headquarters building (Fig. 2) as part of the Gateway Center urban renewal project on the fringe of the Minneapolis central business district. The company eventually expanded its staff and services to occupy offices in several downtown area buildings.
