Pill Hill, Rochester, Minnesota

Pill Hill Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Several houses from the Historic District
Show map of Minnesota Show map of the United States
Location	Rochester, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°01′01″N 92°28′31″W
Architect	Harold Crawford; Ellerbe & Associates; Garfield Schwarz (builder)
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Prairie School, Tudor Revival
NRHP reference No.	85003768 [1]
Added to NRHP	November 29, 1990

Pill Hill is a National Register of Historic Places district in Rochester, Minnesota. The residential neighborhood encompasses almost 150 houses built on a limestone bluff, predominantly for staff of the nearby Mayo Clinic, which led to the name. Its period of significance is between 1885-1937, with the vast majority of the homes being constructed in an approximately 30-year span in the first third of the 1900s. The neighborhood contains houses that showcase a diverse spectrum of Western architectural tradition, with numerous examples of Colonial revival, Tudor revival, Craftsman style, Prairie school, and Spanish revival homes, and also including fewer examples of Elizabethan revival, French eclectic, Neoclassical, Queen Anne, and Storybook, among others.[2] Notable Minnesotan architects have works represented in the neighborhood, including Ellerbe and Associates (approximately 30 homes) and Harold Crawford (16 homes).[3][4] The original owners of the homes and past residents also contribute to the neighborhood's historic significance, including Nobel prizewinners Edward Calvin Kendall and Luis Walter Alvarez, as well as numerous pioneers and leaders in medicine who worked at the adjacent Mayo Clinic including William J. Mayo, John W. Kirklin, Fredrick A. Willius, Louis B. Wilson, and Alfred W. Adson, among many others.

The boundaries of Pill Hill are roughly 3rd and 9th streets and 7th and 10th avenues Southwest. More generally the neighborhood is found between U.S. 52, U.S. 63 (Broadway), Memorial Parkway, and 2nd Street SW. Saint Mary's Hospital is at the bottom of the hill to the northwest of the district.[2]

In 1990, the neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Several buildings on or near Pill Hill are individually listed, including the Plummer House and the Mayo Foundation House. Homeowners in the neighborhood are currently in the process of seeking a local historic landmark district designation from the City of Rochester.[5][6]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. NRHP listing
3. Allsen, Ken (2009). A Century of Elegance, Ellerbe Residential Design in Rochester, Minnesota. The History Center of Olmsted County. ISBN 9780967665276.
4. Allsen, Ken (2014). Master Architect, The Life and Works of Harold Crawford. The History Center of Olmsted County. ISBN 9780692020913.
5. "Pill Hill neighbors start effort seeking local landmark district". Rochester Post Bulletin. August 22, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
6. Baker, Sean (January 17, 2025). "Neighbors band together to preserve Rochester's most storied neighborhood". www.startribune.com. Retrieved January 26, 2025.