Tag: presidents

The City of Presidents

©2021 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

While South Dakota is known for four specific Presidents, Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Jefferson, carved into a mountainside, it had escaped my thorough attention to detail that Rapid City, being an extremely patriotic city, it is also known for its City of Presidents Sculpture Walk.

As I drove around the block, attempting to secure a parking spot near my hotel, I noticed many statues on each corner of Main and St. Joseph Streets. These life-size bronze statues are a tribute to our nation’s past presidents, a project which began in 2000 to honor the legacy of our leaders.

In 2000, President Abraham Lincoln was the first statue to be unveiled. Four statues a year were unveiled until 2010, when Presidents Arthur, Clinton and George W. Bush were completed.

Each of the forty-three sculptures is privately funded and placed in a pattern so as to maintain an orderly structure and eliminate any sense of favoritism or political gain. Although our 46th president is currently in office, you won’t see his likeness for a while as statues are unveiled every 4-8 years, depending on a president’s time in office and there are spots for eighty statues, so plenty of space to record our nation’s forthcoming history.

Numbers still not adding up? Grover Cleveland served twice as president, but wasn’t re-elected after his first term. He won the 1884 and 1892 elections, thus serving as the 22nd and 24th president and with the loss of the election by President Trump this past November, his statue should be in the works for an unveiling in the immediate future.

It is a lovely tribute and a great way to enjoy Rapid City’s downtown area.

Although I was headed to Mount Rushmore on my first day in town, I rose quite early on the next to take a closer look at these effigies. On this particular day, I made it through about half of the statues on St. Joseph Street, vowing to see the rest on the next.

I must admit, with the sun’s low angle due to the time of year, it was hard to get great photos of some of the statues, but at least they weren’t covered in snow…yet. That was reserved for the next day. Overnight, a light snowfall blanketed the city and the presidents! Although it was freezing…a glacial 15 degrees…I was determined to see all of the presidents that morning before leaving for the Badlands. I made a plan to walk down one side of Main Street, stopping on each corner, then crossing at Fourth Street to make it up the other side of Main. Each statue is a unique piece of artistry and represents something that the president was known for.

Gerald Ford, known for his affection for the family dog is depicted with his dog Liberty.

 John F. Kennedy is shown holding hands with his son John Jr.

Calvin Coolidge is featured waving a Stetson hat next to a saddle; the original saddle was made for the President by Bud Duhamel of Rapid City.

 John Tyler and his violin.

As I made my way back to St. Joseph Street, to see the statues I had missed the day before, I encountered some local Native American citizens who insisted I take their picture with President William Henry Harrison. They told me that they were contemplating adding a sign to the newspaper that Harry Truman was holding up, stating “Will Work For Food”! They thought it quite comical!

Intersection of Sixth and St. Joseph Streets, George Washington, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Andrew Johnson
Corner of Fifth and St. Joseph Streets, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush, Dwight D. Eisenhower, James A. Garfield
Corner of Fourth and St. Joseph Streets, Barack Obama, Grover Cleveland, Rutherford B. Hayes
Corner of Sixth and Main Streets, George H. Bush, John Adams
Corner of Fifth and Main Streets, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Chester Arthur and Calvin Coolidge (pictured above)
Corner of Fourth and Main Streets, Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, James K. Polk, Benjamin Harrison
Corner of Seventh and Main Streets, Linden B. Johnson, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe
Corner of Eighth and Main Streets, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy (pictured above)
Corner of Ninth and Main Streets, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Pierce
Corner of Ninth and St. Joseph Streets, Warren G. Harding, Zachary Taylor, Woodrow Wilson, Millard Filmore
Corner of Seventh and St. Joseph Streets, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, William Jefferson Clinton and Gerald Ford (pictured above)
Corner of Eighth and St. Joseph Streets, Harry S. Truman, William Henry Harrison and John Tyler (pictured above)

In addition to the President’s statues, you can find many famous statues throughout the city, two in particular that are located among the presidents in the downtown area with a Native American theme; Mitakauye Oyasin (All My Relatives) by Dale C. Lamphere and Hunkayapi (Tying on the Eagle Plume), by Dale C. Lamphere.

While in South Dakota, it is imperative that you make the trip out to see Mount Rushmore, but while in the Rapid City, don’t miss these amazing works of art and the downtown area which is a work of art in itself. Download the map of each of the presidential statue locations and visit the President’s Information Center for information, but challenge yourself to see how many you can recognize on your own!

Downtown Rapid City Signs

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City of President’s Walking Tour

Heads Up

©2021 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

The length of my bucket list sometimes keeps me up at night.

How will I ever complete everything?

Since many things will have to remain unchecked at least for now, due to Covid19, I am trying to enjoy some of the things that are close at hand. Maybe some things, by necessity, have suddenly appeared on my list, but some of them have always been there!

When I say close at hand, it is understandable that not being able to travel outside the country has forced us to take a closer look at the amazing places that are within our boundaries. Since I can’t go gorilla trekking in Uganda right now, I can certainly travel within the United States and mark off a few things, like Mount Rushmore.

Unbelievably, I don’t ever remember having been to South Dakota. Maybe I spent a short night while on one of my trips for work, but not enough time to see anything that this beautiful state has to offer.

Pondering my bucket list situation one night, I packed a bag and decided that I would leave for Mount Rushmore in the morning. It was now…or now (I didn’t want to say never)…and I really needed to get out of the house!

As luck would have it, it was a good travel day and I made all three of my flights, arriving in Rapid City around eleven. My rental car took me to my downtown hotel, where I dropped my bags and quickly freshened up. With sunset so early in the winter day, I knew that it was imperative to make the most of the daylight. Thankfully, Mount Rushmore is only a short drive from the downtown area and I made the trip in a quick twenty-five minutes.

As I navigated the winding road, aware that I was getting close, I looked up ahead at a passing truck and there it was! I had not been prepared to see this amazing landmark from the highway and I had to slow my speed and pull over to take a better look. It was mesmerizing!

While most people opt to visit Mount Rushmore during the warmer summer months, I realized as I pulled into a mostly empty parking garage that visiting during the winter has its advantages.

And disadvantages.

Improvements to the property certainly cannot be done during the busy times of the year, so as I made my way down the Avenue of the Flags, which display flags of all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the three territories, Guam, American Samoa and Virgin Islands, I had to maneuver around construction equipment, detours and closed off areas. As I arrived on the Grand View Terrace, I finally laid my eyes on the colossal sculpture, sans the massive crowds that flock here during the summer…another advantage of my November visit.

Looking down at the unoccupied amphitheater seating, it dawned on me how many people I could actually be sharing this space with. Yes, it was cold, but there was no one to my left and no one to my right…perfect for social distancing.

As luck would have it, the weather, which could be volatile at this time of year was cooperating. Although a few clouds dipped low, occasionally obscuring the upper portions of the the carvings, blue skies prevailed and we were all treated with beautiful views.

After feasting my eyes, I headed inside the Visitor’s Center to warm up and learn about the famous carvings’ history, much of which I did not know.

Mount Rushmore was the brainchild of Gutzon Borglum. With an idea of carving the four Presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln, from the waist up, construction began in 1927 and took fourteen years to complete. When funding ran out, only the heads were completed. The Presidents represent the nation’s birth, development, growth and preservation. There are many exhibits in the Visitor’s Center explaining their construction as well as a short film.

Although I saw the entrance to the Presidential Trail, which gives hikers a closer look, I was not quite sure of how much time it would entail. With my plans including continuing on to the Crazy Horse Memorial, a short drive away, I decided to skip this portion of the grounds.

Jumping back into my now freezing car, I cranked up the heat and headed out to Highway 244. Not long into my journey, I learned that I wasn’t quite done with my visit to Mount Rushmore. From the roadway, behind the park, there is a great view of the profile of George Washington’s 60 foot head, 20 foot nose and 18 foot wide mouth. Pull over to the side of the road or in the adjacent parking lot and keep an eye out for the many mountain goats that hang out in the area.

This was the icing on the cake!

Twenty four hours earlier, I had not planned to be here and now I was gazing up at the profile of our nation’s first president.

With my head held high, I gave myself a personal pat on the back for making this happen. I then placed a mental check on my bucket list while looking up at this important piece of our nation’s history.

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Mount Rushmore

  • https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm
  • Address: 13000 Highway 244, Building 31, Suite 1, Keystone, SD 57751
  • Hours: October 1 through March 13, 0500-2100, March 14 through September 30, 0500-2300.
  • Admission: free admission
  • Parking: Cars, Motorcycles and RVs, $10.00 per vehicle. Seniors (ages 62+), $5.00 per vehicle. Free for Active Duty Military.