Do You Know Rochester’s ‘Transparent Man’?

While checking out a list of some of Minnesota's best roadside attractions, I noticed that Rochester's entries included not only our Ear of Corn water tower, but also the Transparent Man. Have you seen him?

I first read about Rochester's Transparent Man on while checking out the Minnesota listings on roadsideamerica.com, but this Mayo Clinc site had much more information. Rochester's Transparent Man is, of course, the life-size, see-through model that currently resides at Mayo Clinic's Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center in the Subway Level of the Seibens Building downtown.

The site notes that he's now 83 years old, and first made his appearance at the 1933 World's Fair. He was created by the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden, Germany and he spent five decades as the main attraction at the Mayo Clinic Museum.

Because he's so old, the site says its believed he may be the only model of his kind still in existence, as few were originally made-- and if there were others, they're likely no longer around. The site says he currently "stands in the Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center, educating visitors about the body’s anatomy any physiology."

I have to say, having lived in Rochester now for over 4 years, I'm a little embarrassed to say I've never seen one of the Med City's famous 'roadside attractions.' There are probably several reasons for this oversight. First, Transparent Man isn't located right along the roadside, like, say the big Paul Bunyan statue in Brainerd is. And, second, I don't often get down to the Subway Level downtown, where, if I did, it might have been easier to catch a glimpse of him. But I'll have to check him out. Have you seen him?