Holiday Lighting of the Plummer Building
The tradition began after a local business leader suggested using the south facade 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.
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 tradition using energy-efficient LED light panels placed in the necessary windows. In 2020, LED lights on adhesive strips around the window frames were installed along with a dedicated timer and lighting controls at each one.
The tree shape is made up of 36,000 lights and measures 96 feet wide and 108 feet tall. A bright star at the top adds the finishing touch.
