Main Tower, Postmodern skyscraper in Innenstadt, Germany
The Main Tower is a postmodern skyscraper in Frankfurt's city center featuring a distinctive glass facade and two connected sections: a cuboid tower and a circular tower. The building spans 56 floors with five underground levels and includes a public observation deck.
Built from 1996 to 1999 by the ARGE Main Tower consortium, including Hochtief AG and Philipp Holzmann AG, the tower was designed by Hamburg firm Schweger + Partner. Its lower floors incorporate the historic facade of the original buildings on the site. The first tenants moved in on 5 November 1999, and the tower was officially inaugurated on 28 January 2000.
The foyer displays two notable artworks: a video installation by Bill Viola and a wall mosaic by Stephan Huber depicting Frankfurt's history. These works tell the story of the city and its evolution through artistic perspectives.
Two viewing platforms are open to the public for a fee: one at about 192 m and the upper one at 198 m. The lower platform is designed for visitors with limited mobility. Since 2001, access has passed through an airport-style security gate in the foyer, so allow extra time before taking the lifts, which run at up to 7 m/s.
The tower's antenna transmits the Hessischer Rundfunk radio programmes hr-info and You FM. From 15 January 2001 the building housed the daily magazine maintower and all wetter! broadcasts, and between 2 April 2005 and 29 June 2013 the Saturday lottery numbers were drawn here.
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