The Reed

The iconic Reed Building was completed in 1939 under the direction of H.P. Reed, a pioneer of Hibbing and considered to be an integral part of the town's historic buildings. H.P. Reed began his career in mining but became active in other industries. He was one of the first citizens to initiate litigation against the mining companies, the Village of Hibbing, and the Great Northern Railroad in an attempt to prevent the town from being moved from North Hibbing. Despite his efforts, the town was relocated, and only a few signs and sidewalks remain as reminders of the original location of Hibbing.

H.P. Reed's daughter, Patsy,  was born in 1913 in North Hibbing and eventually became the face of The Reed. Patsy received a scholarship to the St. Paul School of Art, made possible by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's WPA program. She spent three years with the WPA program  in the 1930s. In 1936, Patsy traveled by bus to New York and enrolled at the Art Students League, studying under Sid Fossum, one of America's most well-known silk screen artists. Patsy returned to Hibbing in 1939 and married Warren High. The couple lived in Hibbing, then New York, and later Duluth, where Warren worked in the emerging television industry. Patsy and Warren divorced but remained close. Upon Patsy's death in 2013, The Reed and many of her possessions were passed on to Warren.

Patsy had always dreamed of fame and wanted nothing more than to celebrate her iconic Penthouse and her art with those closest to her.