Plummer Building

The Plummer Building is a historic Mayo Clinic building in Rochester, Minnesota, and one of the most recognizable architectural landmarks associated with the medical institution. Completed and dedicated in 1928, it was built during a period of rapid expansion in the Mayo practice, providing additional space for the growing group medical organization. The building was designed by Ellerbe & Co., the Rochester architectural firm now associated with AECOM, and represented the third Mayo Clinic commission undertaken by the firm. Its design is an important expression of the early Mayo partners’ ambition to create an integrated private group practice. The collaboration between physician and administrator Henry Stanley Plummer and architect Franklin Ellerbe helped establish an architectural model for later Mayo Clinic facilities: a large, purpose-built medical complex designed to bring different clinical and organizational functions together. The building’s Art Deco character, vertical emphasis, decorative terra-cotta work, and prominent tower gave physical form to the expanding institution’s modern identity. The Plummer Building was dedicated on September 16, 1928, in a ceremony attended by approximately 10,000 people. Dr. Charles H. Mayo dedicated the building, while Dr. William J. Mayo dedicated its carillon to the American soldier. The dedication connected the new medical facility not only with the Mayo partners and their patients but also with the civic and patriotic life of Rochester and the United States. The building is especially noted for its tower, which contains a 56-bell carillon. The carillon is played daily, allowing its music to carry across downtown Rochester. The tower is illuminated by floodlights at night and remains a defining element of the city skyline. The building also has ornamental bronze entrance doors weighing about 4,000 pounds, or roughly 1,800 kilograms. Their customary open position has been interpreted as a symbol of the Mayo Clinic’s continuing willingness to receive people in need of medical care. According to the building’s historical account, the doors have been closed only for notable Mayo or national commemorations. The Plummer Building was Rochester’s tallest building from its completion until 2001, when the nearby Gonda Building surpassed it. It forms part of a broader collection of Mayo Clinic and Rochester structures designed by the Ellerbe firm, including the 1914 Red Clinic building, the 1922 Mayo Institute for Experimental Medicine building, the 1954 Clinic Building, the 2002 Gonda Building, and Rochester Methodist Hospital. Decorative elements for the Plummer Building were designed by Ray Corwin of Ellerbe and Round, who also worked on elements of the Chateau Theatre and the Oakwood Cemetery gate. The Mayo Clinic Buildings were added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and the Plummer Building received further recognition as a U.S. National Historic Landmark shortly afterward under the Mayo Clinic Building designation. Today it remains an active and highly visible part of the Mayo Clinic campus, valued for its medical association, architectural significance, historic role in the development of group practice, and contribution to Rochester’s civic identity.

The Plummer Building emerged from the expansion of the Mayo medical practice in the 1920s. The Mayo partners sought facilities capable of supporting an integrated private group practice rather than a collection of unrelated medical offices. Henry Stanley Plummer played an important role in shaping the organizational and architectural thinking behind this model, while Franklin Ellerbe and the Ellerbe firm translated the institution’s requirements into a major new building. The project continued a relationship between Mayo Clinic and the Rochester architectural practice, which had already designed two Mayo buildings. Completed in 1928, the building was designed in the Art Deco style, using a strongly vertical composition and a distinctive tower with terra-cotta trim. Ray Corwin of Ellerbe and Round was responsible for the building’s decorative elements. The result became both a functional addition to the Mayo campus and a highly visible statement about the scale, modernity, and permanence of the medical practice. The building was formally dedicated on September 16, 1928. Approximately 10,000 people attended the ceremony. Charles H. Mayo dedicated the building, while William J. Mayo dedicated its carillon to the American soldier in a ceremony that linked the institution’s new architecture with national service and civic ideals. The carillon, housed in the tower, contains 56 bells and became an enduring part of Rochester’s soundscape. It is played daily, and the tower is illuminated each night. For much of the twentieth century, the Plummer Building was the tallest structure in Rochester. Its dominance of the skyline continued until 2001, when construction of the nearby Gonda Building introduced a taller Mayo Clinic landmark. Even after losing that distinction, the Plummer Building retained its status as one of the city’s defining buildings and as an important visual symbol of Mayo Clinic. The building’s monumental bronze doors are another prominent feature. Weighing approximately 4,000 pounds, they are normally kept open and have been understood as representing an ongoing welcome to patients and others seeking medical care. Their closure has been reserved for notable Mayo Clinic or national commemorations, reinforcing the building’s role as both a working institution and a symbolic public landmark. The Plummer Building is part of a larger architectural legacy created by the Ellerbe firm in Rochester. Related Mayo projects include the 1914 Red Clinic building, the 1922 Mayo Institute for Experimental Medicine building, the 1954 Clinic Building, the 2002 Gonda Building, and Rochester Methodist Hospital. This network of projects helped shape the architectural identity of the Mayo Clinic campus and the city around it. Recognition of the site’s historic importance came in 1969, when the Mayo Clinic Buildings were listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Plummer Building was additionally designated a National Historic Landmark approximately one week later as part of the Mayo Clinic Building designation. Its significance rests on the intersection of medical history, institutional development, architecture, engineering, and civic identity. It remains associated with Mayo Clinic and continues to serve as a prominent campus and Rochester landmark.

• 2001

  No longer Rochester’s tallest building

  [1]Plummer Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The nearby Gonda Building surpassed the Plummer Building in height, ending its distinction as Rochester’s tallest building.

• 1969

  Mayo Clinic Buildings listed on the National Register

  [1]Plummer Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The Mayo Clinic Buildings, including the Plummer Building, were listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

• 1969

  National Historic Landmark recognition

  [1]Plummer Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The Plummer Building received additional National Historic Landmark recognition shortly after the broader Mayo Clinic Buildings listing.

• 1928

  Building completed and dedicated

  [1]Plummer Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The Plummer Building was completed and dedicated on September 16, 1928, during a ceremony attended by approximately 10,000 people. Charles H. Mayo dedicated the building, and William J. Mayo dedicated its carillon to the American soldier.

• 1928

  56-bell carillon installed in the tower

  [1]Plummer Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The building’s distinctive tower incorporated a 56-bell carillon, which became a recurring part of downtown Rochester’s civic soundscape.

A signature Mayo Clinic campus landmark combining an active medical-institution setting with nationally recognized Art Deco architecture and civic symbolism.

• Historic medical building · 1928

  Plummer Building

  The principal structure is an Art Deco Mayo Clinic building completed in 1928. Its architectural identity is defined by a vertical profile, terra-cotta-trimmed tower, ornamental bronze doors, and decorative work by Ray Corwin. It was created to provide space for the expanding Mayo practice and to express the institution’s integrated group-practice model.

• Architectural feature · 1928

  Plummer Building carillon

  A 56-bell carillon occupies the building’s tower. Dedicated to the American soldier during the 1928 building ceremony, it is played daily and can be heard across downtown Rochester. Together with the illuminated tower, it is one of the building’s most recognizable public features.

1. 1Plummer Buildingen.wikipedia.org