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Below: Firehouse Brewing Company
as advertised on the billboard above: The Firehouse is a unique brewery
located in Downtown Rapid City. The brewery and restaurant is Rapid
City's original fire station featuring handcrafted beers and pub food.
The Brewing Company is South Dakota's first brew pub giving customers'
unique flavor in beer. There is also a beer garden and fire fighting
memorabilia which can be viewed Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to
10 p.m.; Friday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.
to 9 p.m. (dates, times and even phone numbers posted on this website
are always subject to change, and are NOT controlled by the two RV Gypsies) |
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Below: The Hotel Alex Johnson is a historic hotel at 523 6th Street in Rapid City, South Dakota, having opened in 1928, and is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is steps not far away from the Center Square, the Berlin Wall exhibit and other interesting places in Rapid City. There are 143 rooms in the hotel.
 The hotel was built by its namesake, Alex Carlton Johnson, Vice President of the Chicago & North Western Railroad. Construction began on August 19, 1927, just one day before work began on nearby Mount Rushmore and the hotel opened on July 1, 1928 and was officially dedicated on August 11, 1928.
It was sold to the Eppley Hotel Company, in 1947. That chain was bought by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts in 1956 and the hotel was renamed the Sheraton-Johnson Hotel. Sheraton sold the hotel in 1965, and it regained its original name.
Since opening its doors on July 1, 1928, the hotel has played host to several presidents, countless celebrities and a few spirits of its own. It has long been known as one of the most haunted hotels in South Dakota. From the “lady in white” to the ghost of Alex Johnson himself, there have been countless reports of spooky activity. The Alex Johnson has become so well known for reported hauntings that the SyFy Channel’s hit show “Ghost Hunters” traveled to Rapid City to do a special segment on the hotel. The investigators reported that they experienced significant paranormal activity throughout the hotel. There are Ghost Adventure Packages available starting at $99. |
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Below: The Outside view:
Only a couple of inches
separate the hotel from a gift shop. |
A chandelier - take a good look
at the unique design |
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Below: A marvelous fireplace
and the amazing ceiling in the lounge area. |
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Below: Back outside, Lee and
Karen Duquette went to the Main Street Square which was holding a free
public event to celebrate May Mental Health Awareness Month.
There were booths with free give-aways; tote bags, apples, cookies,
hot dogs, popcorn, pens, bicycle locks, and much more. |
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Below: A free outdoor concert. |
Below: Karen Duquette made a new friend. |
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Below: A giant display of USA money from 1899 and 1901 |
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Below: Tires painted red,
white, and blue have been creatively transformed into smiling envoys
of commerce outside of a business named "Tires, Tires, Tires"
327 E. Omaha Street in Rapid City. It was built by Ron Tyrrell, who
owns the tire shop. He calls them "Tire Man and Buddy".
Tire Man was built in 1988; Buddy was added in 2005.
Roadside America asked Ron if he had been influenced by other roadside
artists. "Nope. I always had it in my mind to build a man out of tires"
- quote from Roadside America.
Note: Nobody else was here at the time that Lee and Karen Duquette
visited in 2016. They have been fortunate enough to visit so many sites
in so many places without a lot of people around. (The busiest places
were the National Parks, of course). |
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Below: Statue of Liberty replica
- 45-feet tall, built by the owners of a pizzeria and sports bar in
2014. Neighbors tried to block it as an eyesore. It was unveiled on
October 28, 2014, the 128th anniversary of Lady Liberty's dedication.
There are no interior stairs. Address: 620 E. Disk Drive, Rapid City.
The two RV Gypsies had a bit of trouble finding it though.
Too bad the owners do not block off the three parking spaces right smack-dab
in front of the statue so better photos could be taken. |
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Below: The Berlin Wall at
Memorial Park
444 Mt. Rushmore Road North
Rapid City, South Dakota
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Located on Rapid Creek, Memorial Park is the center of Rapid City. Featured within the park is one of America's largest Berlin Wall exhibits. Memorial Park is part of the Rapid City Historic District Tour. |
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Below: The story boards were
fabulous as they told the human side on why people wanted to leave and
how it was done. It shows the heartfelt compassion on both sides. It
was also educational. To actually look at the wall and see the construction
was interesting. However, it was pouring rain when Lee and Karen Duquette
arrived here. They sat in their car for quite awhile and when the rain
stopped, Karen took some pictures, but did not have much time because
within minutes it started to pour rain again. She took the pictures
shown here as quickly as she could before running back to the car. |
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Below: While in Rapid City,
Lee Duquette drove a bit out of the way to Thunderhead Underground Falls
- 10940 West Highway 44. Their website said open. The sign by the road
said open. But when they actually got to the entrance the trail was
closed. Lee and Karen Duquette were very disappointed.
Official Description from the internet: In 1878
a group of miners blasted through the bottom of Rapid Creek, creating
a waterfall and an underground river. The sound of the water crashing
against the rocks grows louder as you walk through the cave, until you
walk directly up to the base of the roaring falls. A short, easy walk
for the family, with beautiful views of copper green cave walls. A hidden
gem nearby the several well-known attractions in South Dakota. The two
RV Gypsies were very disappointed that they did not get to see this
attraction. |
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There is a lot more Rapid City, SD adventures in the South Dakota menu below, including the statues of the USA Presidents. |
AFTER you have seen all of the above sites in South Dakota,