Mayo Clinic Historical Suite

Original Offices of Drs. William J. and Charles H. Mayo

Located on the third floor of the historic Plummer Building in downtown Rochester, Minn., the Mayo Historical Suite originally housed the general surgeons' offices and the offices of Drs. William J. and Charles H. Mayo from 1928 until their deaths in 1939.

Dr. William J. Mayo's office is arranged as it was when he used it. Family photographs and pictures of the Mayo family's riverboats are displayed along with other personal effects.

Dr. Charles H. Mayo (left) and his brother, Dr. William J. Mayo, set the example of teamwork that remains the hallmark of Mayo Clinic.

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Dr. Charles H. Mayo's office contains original furnishings, family photographs, and Dr. Charlie's motto, "There's no fun like work." After his death, his son, Dr. Charles W. Mayo, also a Mayo Clinic surgeon, used the office until his retirement.

Friendship Galleries

Lining the corridor walls of the Historical Suite are the "friendship galleries" of the Doctors Mayo. The galleries consist of signed photographs of friends and acquaintances of the Mayo brothers and are displayed in their original arrangement. Photographs of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, boxer Jack Dempsey, and humorist Will Rogers are standouts in the gallery.

The Suite houses additional Mayo family memorabilia, displays of medical instruments and artifacts, the Emeritus Staff albums containing biographical sketches of Mayo Clinic Staff who retired from Mayo or who died while in practice at Mayo.

The Suite also has rotating displays on such topics as the history of nursing and the discovery of cortisone. Historical Suite staff design and maintain historical displays and collect and preserve archival records and artifacts relative to Mayo Clinic history.

Hours of Operation

The Historical Suite is open without charge to patients, visitors and staff for self-guided tours weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.