American Gam

“From the beginning we in this nation have had the good fortune to find the right leader, often from an unexpected quarter, whose character, ability, and experience fit the tide of history.” ~ James Cannon

Forty-five minutes northeast of Mount Rushmore, which is in our backyard, is the city of Rapid City. It’s the second most cosmopolitan place in South Dakota with an estimated population of 80,000 next to Sioux Falls’ population of 225,000, both of which dwarfs the population of the capitol city of Pierre who’s population is only 14,000! Rapid City looms on the western end of the state, Sioux Falls flanks the eastern end, while Pierre sits in the geographic center of South Dakota along the banks of the Missouri River. Rapid City, known as the “Gateway to the Black Hills,” also carries the moniker of “The City of Presidents.” On this day we went there to discover why.

On Main Street and Saint Joseph Street, between Fourth and Ninth Streets, in downtown Rapid City, on all of the twelve intersections within those city blocks, stands on almost every corner a life-size cast-in-bronze statue of every person who has ever held the title of President of the United States.

The first four statues were unveiled in the year 2000: George Washington, John Adams, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were the first four presidents to be cast and placed on the corners of Sixth Street. After that “The City of Presidents” was born and downtown began to transform. Over the years, a group of local artists worked to create another forty statues, bringing the total to forty-four anatomically correct bronze statues of the leaders of the great American experiment.

As part of the fun, the city also includes in the presidential statues brochure a scavenger hunt where you must locate a number of objects held by some of the statues. We played along, found all of the objects and at the end of the day we brought our brochure to the Rapid City Visitors Center for a presidential prize of a Rapid City water bottle and a bottle of water to put in it. We were thirsty after all that walking so it was perfect.

There was also an audio tour that you can listen to (or read along) on your phone to learn all of the highlights of the president’s life and the artist’s vision for the casting.

Come along with us as we explore this “monumental” attraction and these distinguished men of history, presented here frozen in time and in inaugural order.

Fun fact: All statues match the height and weight of the president, except William Howard Taft, whose statue was slimmed down to make the statue more affordable.

I hope you enjoyed this picture tour of some of history’s great men.

The gam continues…