The Resource Center of the Americas (RCTA) began as a grassroots organization in the 1980s, working on issues related to the Latino communities in the Twin Cities. In 1999, the headquarters renovated and moved to this 15,000-square-foot building (originally built in 1921) on Lake and Minnehaha.
The two-story mosaic on the southern wall was commissioned by the RCA in 2001 and is known as the "Mosaic of the Americas: Many Strengths, Many Struggles." Led by Minnesota artists Gustavo Lira, Lori Greene, Deborah Ramos, and Mexican artists José Luis Soto, María Guadalupe García Rojas, Isa Campos, and Crescencio Méndez Gaspar, it included over 200 volunteers on the project.
"They worked in a giant rented studio on Minnehaha Ave where they cut and painted a life-sized cardboard model of the mosaic. The mosaic helped reclaim Minnehaha and Lake Street, as the Resource Center worked to close an adjacent sauna and to have unwanted billboards and advertisements removed. The resulting work represents the connections between the United States and Latin America." (here)
The RCA closed in 2007 due to financial difficulties. In 2008, it sold the building to Mosaic Properties, LLC for $1 million. The Mosaic Building currently houses Glaciers Cafe.
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