When one comes to Rochester and visits Mayo Clinic, there are several historic places to visit. The Plummer Building is right across the street and offers a good opportunity to see some of the earlier history of the clinic and its founders. It's a beautiful building and very interesting strictly from an architectural standpoint.Make sure to visit the library on the top of the building and pay attention to the details of the wood work and the beautiful elevators. In this building you will the find the original office of Dr. Mayo.
Excuisite exterior and interior architect with bold gargoyle corner sculptures at the corners of upper floors. Interior moldings and accents in gold. Originally housed on the 3rd floor are offices and library of Dr. Plummers . Top floor medical library.
Found this interesting but if I didn't see it I wouldn't have felt I missed anything. After touring the city I did get to know about Dr. Plummer and how he worked with the Mayo Brothers.
This is the building to see in Rochester. Inside and out it is amazing. Make sure to see the bronze doors.
If you have a few minutes/or longer to spare while at Mayo go to the Plummer Building and check out Charlie and Will's old offices. It is wonderful that Mayo decided to preserve these and you won't be sorry you stopped by to get a look at the "roots" of Mayo Clinic.
If you have a spare 10-30 minutes -- it's definitely worth it to admire the architecture of this building. The elevator doors are my favorite. You should also check out the 14th floor library/reading room if you get the opportunity. (But may need a Mayo badge)
Mayo has a cousin across the street called the...Plumber Building.....Dr Plumber helped the Mayo Doctors build the dynasty....in the older days we gave blood in this building and received $25.00 to do so.......many labs were in the building......The Plumber House should be visited also to get the full effect of Dr. Plumber's history and guidance in the building of this historical event.
Go for the doors, but stay for the lobby and the historical suite on the 3rd floor. The BEST free attraction in Rochester, MN. Best man made attraction in MN. History at its finest. Ask the Rochester Trolly driver to tell you stories about this building.
The house tour wasn't great. It's kinda stinky and the history isn't old enough to fascinate me. Why I like this place is for it's outside. The gardens, fountains, and secret stairways and hidden nooks and crannies about the property are all free to explore. Lots of photographers take their subjects there. People go to sit and read or snack. I do not see a draw for little kids here. Nothing for them to do but run around on grass and be loud and this would not be appreciated by other visitors. It's more a place to go to relax and enjoy the trees.
I enjoyed the tour on the 2nd floor and the knowledge I gained strolling through the building. Did not know that this was the original Mayo Offices/Clinic. Seeing the History that is in this town is so exciting for me. My Family was here for 20+ years and made an impact on this town and I enjoy hearing the others that had an impact as well. Since I live in the area.