ROCHESTER, Minnesota — In southwest Rochester, there's a home that from the outside looks like any other. But inside, there's a layout like no other.
The Plummer pump house consists of 3,000 square feet of finished space and then an additional 3,600 square feet of caves.
"People are very excited about it. We've heard from people across the nation who are intrigued with the property," said Julie Glass with Edina Realty.
Glass is selling the property with Michael Korby, also of Edina Realty.
The building was built in 1926 as a pump house for Dr. Henry S. Plummer's and Daisy Plummer's estate. Dr. Plummer was the fourth physician to join the Mayo practice as a partner. According to Mayo Clinic, Dr. Plummer and his colleague, Mabel Root, designed the numeric registration system and unified medical record that forms the core infrastructure of Mayo Clinic.
"There's the pump at the base of the hill to collect water and then pump it up to the estate. There's a water tower at the top of the hill that holds the water and then it's used up at the estate," Korby explained.
The current owners bought the property 34 years ago and renovated the place into a single-family home. On the main floor, there is one remaining original room.
"It was rumored that Dr. Plummer would come from the main house and get some quiet time in this room," Glass said.
The home also includes the original doors used to drive carriages inside.
While the four bedroom, three bathroom home is historic, its caves are generating all the buzz.
"There are three different legs. The main one is where the water was pumped. You can see the remnants of the old lines and that is 150 feet deep," Glass said. The cave to the left was where the horses would go while the cave on the right was used to store beer for a local brewery.
"Neither one of us have ever sold a property with a cave so it's been very fun," Glass said.
The home went on the market Wednesday. The popular account Zillow Gone Wild picked up the listing and it went viral.
"Someone sent me an article from the Miami Herald. It's like, oh gosh they're talking about it down there now," Korby said.
Their open house on Saturday attracted more than 500 people. It's listed for $550,000.
"There are elements of pricing the home that are hard to establish. How much is the history aspect valued at? So there's a bit of a wild card and then you throw in a cave..." Korby said.
On Monday afternoon the realtors said they planned on visiting with the sellers to go over offers later in the day.