Editing Faribault, Minnesota (section)

==Economy==
Faribault has the usual gamut of small-town retail and service shops. Employers also include an assortment of light manufacturing offerings.

The main street, Central Avenue, is seeing a renaissance of redevelopment with most of the historic commercial block listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many buildings are being restored to their original appearance. Among them is the [[Paradise Center for the Arts]], a multipurpose art center that is the result of a merger between the Faribault Art Center and the Faribault Area Community Theatre. Two longtime Faribault retailing/shopping institutions closed: the oldest, a longtime Central Avenue fixture, Jim & Joe's Clothiers closed after 125+ years of service due to a number of related factors.<ref>{{cite web|last=Huppert |first=Boyd |title=Over a century of service with a smile comes to an end |publisher=KARE 11 |date=May 19, 2006 |url=http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=125232 |access-date=March 5, 2008}}</ref> The other, Minnick's Food Market, was Faribault's last [[mom-and-pop]] grocery store and closed after 60+ years of operation in late 2006.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

Herbert Sellner, a woodworker and maker of water slides, invented the [[Tilt-A-Whirl]] in 1926 at his Faribault home. Over the next year, the first 14 Tilt-A-Whirls were built in Sellner's basement and yard. In 1927, Sellner Manufacturing opened its factory in Faribault, and the ride debuted that year at the [[Minnesota State Fair]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Minnesota State Fair: Origins and Traditions {{!}} MNopedia|url = http://www.mnopedia.org/event/minnesota-state-fair-origins-and-traditions|website = www.mnopedia.org|access-date=November 27, 2015}}</ref>

Founded in 1865, the [[Faribault Woolen Mills]] stayed in continuous operation until 2009. Reopened in 2011, it is one of few remaining vertical woolen mills in the United States, taking raw wool and producing finished goods.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Heritage – Faribault Mill |url=http://www.faribaultmill.com/pages/our-heritage |website=www.faribaultmill.com |access-date=November 27, 2015}}</ref>

[[SAGE Electrochromics]], a specialized window glass developer and wholly owned subsidiary of [[Saint-Gobain]], is based in Faribault.