What’s the story behind this colorful tradition?

We have to go back several decades to a collaboration between Mayo Clinic and the city of Rochester. A local business leader suggested using the south façade of the Plummer Building for seasonal light displays. Harry Harwick, Mayo Clinic’s chief administrative officer, secured necessary approvals, and patterns of colored lights forming the shape of a tree took root as an annual event from 1950 to 1956. “Night watchmen” manually turned light switches of the designated rooms on and off each evening to create the pattern. However, over time, remodeling of the Plummer Building made it difficult to continue the display, and energy crises in later years shut down the tradition entirely. 

Flip the calendar forward to 2013, when the Mayo Clinic Sesquicentennial restored the beloved tradition using energy-efficient LED light panels placed in the necessary windows. In 2020, innovative elves in Mayo Facilities Operations went back to the drawing board and improved the plans yet again, installing LED lights on adhesive strips around the window frames with a dedicated timer and lighting controls at each one.

These colorful lights bring cheer to Rochester visitors and residents alike.