Spire spires were an astounding architectural innovation, beginning with the early fourteenth-century spire at Freiburg Minster, in which the pierced stonework was held together by iron cramps. The openwork spire, according to Robert Bork, represents a "radical but logical extension of the Gothic tendency towards skeletal structure." The organic skeleton of Antoni Gaudi's phenomenal spires at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona represent an outgrowth of this Gothic tendency. Designed and begun by Gaudi in 1884, they were not completed until the 20th century. In England, "spire" immediately brings to mind Salisbury Cathedral. Its 403-foot (123-m) spire, built between 1320 and 1380,
Spire Credit Union the organization. Spire was officially incorporated on March 13, 1934. In 2011, Spire operated ten branches in the Twin Cities area. In July 2014, the organization – then named Spire Federal Credit Union – was voted to change from a federally-chartered into a state-chartered financial institution, and was renamed Spire Credit Union. In 2014, Greater Minnesota Credit Union (GMCU) merged with Spire, adding six branches in the greater Minnesota area. Spire has a total of 17 branches. Spire Credit Union Spire Credit Union (stylized SPIRE Credit Union) is a not-for-profit financial cooperative that was founded as the Twin City Co-ops