An excerpt of a picture by Mike Evangelist, now at the MHS. This is the 70s. The second floor of the building on the corner was removed for a news ticker.

In the background you can see the larger office structures on First Avenue. The other side of the block held theaters and old class-C rentals.

As for the origin of this picture, here's the text from the City Pages description:

"As a teenager, Mike Evangelist took a lot of photos. Growing up in the suburbs outside Minneapolis, Evangelist's camera was drawn to the bright sights and big buildings in his closest metropolis. He also, to be frank, had an eye for some of the area's more fashionable women, a taste in photo subjects that Evangelist readily admits to now. Evangelist's photos have been compiled as part of a Minnesota Historical Society exhibit, now on display at the Mill City Museum, and as part of a book, "Downtown: Minneapolis in the 1970s," with accompanying text by Andy Sturdevant. All photos credit Mike Evangelist.