--- title: Free Climbing Raccoon Scales Minnesota Skyscraper description: The saga of a small mammal scaling a tower inspired art and introspection canonical: https://time.com/5310704/raccoon-climbs-minnesota-ubs-skyscraper/ author: Eli Meixler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-13T06:09:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T19:21:00.000Z og:title: Free Climbing Raccoon Scales Minnesota Skyscraper og:description: The saga of a small mammal scaling a tower inspired art and introspection og:url: https://time.com/5310704/raccoon-climbs-minnesota-ubs-skyscraper/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45b50f2c2fe6fd62/698932ecab6d772b576b2f09/ap18163702029572.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Stranded Raccoon og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Free Climbing Raccoon Scales Minnesota Skyscraper twitter:description: The saga of a small mammal scaling a tower inspired art and introspection twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45b50f2c2fe6fd62/698932ecab6d772b576b2f09/ap18163702029572.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Free Climbing Raccoon Captures Hearts and Minds Scaling Minnesota Skyscraper ## Video: Free Climbing Raccoon Captures Hearts and Minds Scaling Minnesota Skyscraper [Watch (HLS stream): Free Climbing Raccoon Captures Hearts and Minds Scaling Minnesota Skyscraper](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fAC3TFD0.m3u8) (0:46)  _Published 2018-06-13. Internet-addicts among us may now have heard of #MPRraccoon, the creature seen climbing up the side of a 25-storey tower in St. Paul, Minnesota. The raccoon made it all the way up to a ledge on the twenty-third story of the UBS building Tuesday._ by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:21 PM UTCPublished: Jun 13, 2018 6:09 AM UTC  A raccoon scurries up the side of the UBS Tower in St. Paul, Minn., on June 12, 2018. A raccoon scurries up the side of the UBS Tower in St. Paul, Minn., on June 12, 2018.Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio—AP by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:21 PM UTCPublished: Jun 13, 2018 6:09 AM UTC Inspiration can strike from the most unlikely of places, and on Tuesday it was found in the form of a small, determined mammal on an improbable upward adventure. Internet-addicts among us may now have heard of #MPRraccoon, the creature seen climbing up the side of a 25-storey tower in St. Paul, Minnesota. After a nail-biting drama that lasted about 20 hours, the raccoon reportedly reached the building’s rooftop early Wednesday. > [](https://twitter.com/timnelson%5Fmpr/status/1006805559285354496) The raccoon was [originally stranded](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/06/12/st-paul-raccoon-scales-skyscraper-social-media-star) on a different nearby building Monday before escaping to a nearby roof and starting its unlikely ascent, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) reports. Early rescue efforts by the St. Paul Fire Department and building workers, who fashioned a makeshift ladder, proved unsuccessful. Late Tuesday night, the raccoon began to [slowly descend](https://twitter.com/timnelson%5Fmpr/status/1006743697545924610) to the seventeenth floor, according to a reporter for MPR. The animal’s growing network of virtual cheerleaders watched in suspense as it crept onward toward an uncertain fate. Its travails captivated social media users. Before long, a [Twitter account](https://twitter.com/TheStPaulRacco1) for the climbing critter was created, and an Internet star was born. > [](https://twitter.com/TheStPaulRacco1/status/1006600693090865152) The saga struck a chord, inspiring both art and introspection. > [](https://twitter.com/timnelson%5Fmpr/status/1006731222398263296) > [](https://twitter.com/chrisgeidner/status/1006635941065318400) > [](https://twitter.com/ItsASwellLife/status/1006724311439118337) > [](https://twitter.com/eugenegu/status/1006728406241701890) > [](https://twitter.com/ErinMayeQuade/status/1006741127343452160) > [](https://twitter.com/mattritter1/status/1006783191456387077) > [](https://twitter.com/karalynum/status/1006628415867441152) Here’s to all your future adventures, MPRraccoon. For everyone’s sake, please stay safe. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5310704/raccoon-climbs-minnesota-ubs-skyscraper/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5310704/raccoon-climbs-minnesota-ubs-skyscraper/"},"headline":"Free Climbing Raccoon Captures Hearts and Minds Scaling Minnesota Skyscraper","datePublished":"2018-06-13T06:09:35.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T19:21:00.000Z","description":"The saga of a small mammal scaling a tower inspired art and introspection","url":"https://time.com/5310704/raccoon-climbs-minnesota-ubs-skyscraper/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Minnesota","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45b50f2c2fe6fd62/698932ecab6d772b576b2f09/ap18163702029572.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45b50f2c2fe6fd62/698932ecab6d772b576b2f09/ap18163702029572.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Stranded Raccoon","caption":"Stranded Raccoon","creditText":"Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5310704/raccoon-climbs-minnesota-ubs-skyscraper/","name":"Free Climbing Raccoon Captures Hearts and Minds Scaling Minnesota Skyscraper"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Free Climbing Raccoon Captures Hearts and Minds Scaling Minnesota Skyscraper","description":"Internet-addicts among us may now have heard of #MPRraccoon, the creature seen climbing up the side of a 25-storey tower in St. Paul, Minnesota. The raccoon made it all the way up to a ledge on the twenty-third story of the UBS building Tuesday.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fAC3TFD0/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-06-13T03:54:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fAC3TFD0.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5310704/raccoon-climbs-minnesota-ubs-skyscraper/","duration":"PT46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5310704/raccoon-climbs-minnesota-ubs-skyscraper/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```