Commercial Locksmith in Rochester, MN

Broadway's historic storefronts

Rochester's original business blocks front Broadway Avenue and nearby streets. On January 22, 2024, the City Council designated 31 properties there as the Downtown Commercial Historic District, which covers what served as the city's central business area from 1870 to 1962. Its buildings once held banks, department stores, hotels and hardware stores. A building with that history can carry several generations of hardware at once: an old storefront door, a later rear service door, and newer interior doors fitted as tenants came and went. Each may take a different cylinder, which makes putting them on one key plan a matter of checking every door.

Heritage designations and changes to designated buildings fall under Unified Development Code Section 60.200.040C. Rekeying keeps the existing hardware on the door, while replacing a storefront door or entrance is a bigger change, so ask the City whether review applies before ordering parts. This is general information, not legal advice.

Skyways, tunnels and many entrances

Skyways and underground walkways link most downtown buildings. A shop or office may therefore open onto the street, a skyway level and a tunnel, and each of those doors needs a place in the key plan. In a building with several tenants, confirm with the owner or manager which cylinders run on the building's master key and which belong to your space alone.

Staff and tenant turnover

When an employee leaves without returning keys, or a tenant moves out of a suite, lock rekeying the affected cylinders cuts off the old keys without new hardware, and in a downtown building the count includes skyway and underground doors as well as the street entrance. In a master-keyed building, one tenant's locks can often be changed without reissuing everyone else's keys. Keep a written log of who holds which key.

Details for the request

• The building address and suite, and every entrance involved: street, skyway, underground, rear or interior.
• Whether the locks are on a building master key, with the manager's approval.
• How many doors and how many staff keys to issue.
• Photos of the lock hardware on each door.

Pill Hill, the city's other historic district, is described on the Rochester page.