Community Info
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota’s third largest city, is in Olmsted County. Best known as the home of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester was voted as one of the “Best Places to Live” by Money Magazine in August 2005. As of 2005 census estimates, the city had a total population of 97,806.
The Mayo Clinic and IBM’s Rochester campus are the two biggest private employers in the city.
Rochester is about 76 miles southeast of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Overview
The primary industries in Rochester are medical services, computer design and programming, light manufacturing (mostly computers and electronics), and a substantial hotel/resort and restaurant trade that serves visitors from around the world.
Actress Lea Thompson was born in Rochester, and Frank B. Kellogg, who eventually became U.S. Secretary of State, had a law office in the city in the 19th century. Many famous people from around the world, including former President Ronald Reagan and King Hussein of Jordan, have visited the city to take advantage of the Mayo Clinic’s services. Many of the tallest buildings in Rochester are owned by Mayo. The Gonda Building is the tallest owned by the clinic, and it is attached to the cross-shaped Mayo Building.
Architecturally, Mayo’s Plummer Building is considered to be among the most significant in the city. Currently, the tallest building in Rochester is the newly constructed Broadway Plaza, a residential dwelling catering to the many Arab visitors who frequent Mayo.
IBM Rochester is also a huge structure, spanning one mile across the northwest part of the city. It was initially designed by noted architect Eero Saarinen.
Rochester may also be home to the largest “ear of corn” in the world. Actually a water tower, it is next to the Seneca Foods plant in the city. There is a large park system in Rochester, with more than 100 sites covering 5 square miles (13 km2). There are 60 miles of paved trails and a few municipal golf courses among many athletic facilities.
The city is home to University Center Rochester, or UCR. UCR is a grouping of Rochester Community and Technical College, Winona State University’s Rochester Center, and the University of Minnesota’s Rochester campus. The city is also home to Crossroads College.
The Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota have their mother house in Rochester at Assisi Heights. The U.S. Federal Medical Center, Rochester, a health care facility for federal prisoners, is on the campus of the former state hospital at the edge of the city.
A number of buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the former Chateau Theatre, which now houses a Barnes & Noble Bookstore and Starbucks Cafe.
The city has three homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright: the A. H. Bulbulian Residence, the James McBean Residence, and the Thomas Keys Residence.
The largest enclosed shopping space in Rochester is Apache Mall.
History
Rochester s was founded by George Head in the late 1840s. Head came from Rochester, New York looking for a chance to prosper in a new area. He named Rochester, Minn. after his hometown, and in 1857 Rochester was named the Olmsted County seat. Rochester was known as a stage coach stop for travelers who journeyed between St. Paul, Minn. and Dubuque, Iowa. When the railroad came to town in the 1870s, it brought with it a number of new residents and a wealth of business opportunities.
On August 21, 1883 tragedy struck when a tornado demolished much of Rochester, leaving many dead and several thousand wounded. There was no medical facility at the time, so Dr. William W. Mayo and his two sons worked together to care for the wounded.
With the help of the Sisters of St. Francis Church, $60,000 in donations were collected and Dr. Mayo opened a new facility named St. Mary’s Hospital. The practice grew immensely and today is one of the largest and most well-respected medical facilities in the world.
