To spot BMO Plaza, just look up and ahead for a tall, powerful skyscraper with grid-patterned windows and a shimmering pinkish-brown glass exterior topped by a steep, geometric cap.
Now, let’s step back in time to the late 1800s, when the clatter of carriages and laughter echoing from the Denison Hotel filled this very spot. But fast-forward to the 1980s and suddenly, there’s chaos-the old seven-story parking garage is coming down, and in its place, steel beams start poking up into the sky. Imagine the sound of jackhammers and the hustle of hardhats, all working to create what would become First Indiana Plaza. When this gleaming tower finally opened in 1988, it was the shiny new headquarters of the First Indiana Federal Savings Bank-imagine the pride, the buzz, the smell of new carpet and fresh office coffee!
But hold on tight, because this building has changed names more than most people change their socks! It became M&I Plaza in 2008 thanks to a big bank buyout, and then switched again, just three years later, to BMO Plaza, after yet another acquisition. Through all the twists and turns-stock market swings, new tenants like BMO Harris Bank and General Electric, and even a whopping $70 million sale in 2018-this skyscraper has stood tall, keeping watch over downtown like a shiny, glassy guardian. Isn’t it wild to think that every window could tell a story? Personally, I wouldn’t mind a corner office with that view-even if I have to wear a tie!
