Wall, SD: Wall Drug Store
But Wall Drug is perhaps the most prolific sign-posting highway haunt of them all. Along the I-90, there's about one Wall Drug sign every mile from both directions, east to west and west to east. Considering the I-90 spans 412 miles across the Mt. Rushmore State, that's about how many signs there are too.
If you've never been there, it's a massive souvenir shop. The facility covers about a quarter city block, and even includes a small shopping mall where it rents out space to other merchants. Wall Drug has a restaurant with an old fashioned soda fountain and ice cream bar. There's a kiddie-land out back with an animated T-Rex Dinosaur, a "train station water show", and it even has its own chapel. And tucked away inside all the memorabilia madness, there's still the actual Wall Drug store where they fill your prescriptions.
And every seems to stop at Wall Drug, from the RVs to the SUVs and hundreds of motorcycle riders as well.
But if it weren't for the signs along the highway, there wouldn't be a Wall Drug.
In 1931, during the depression years, Ted Hustead bought the struggling drug store in Wall, SD, a town of about 231 residents of that time. And even under his command, Wall Drug continued to suffer. In the following years, Hustead was about ready to give up on his drug store.
About 75 miles to the west, Mt. Rushmore had begun construction in 1929, and by 1934 the carving of the faces had begun. By this time, tourists began flocking to South Dakota to see the work underway. Several of them had taken old Route 16A which ran through Wall.
During the sweltering heat of Summer, which in those days cars didn't come equipped with air conditioning. So, Hustead had erected signs along the highway offering travelers free ice cold water at his drug store.
And it worked. People stopped at Wall Drug to get the liquid cold refreshment, and at the same time, spend a little extra on goodies.
To this day, Wall Drug still gives away free glasses of ice water, but has expanded to free bumper stickers with the words, "Where the Heck is Wall Drug?". Otherwise, the landmark drug store still relies on this billboards for much of its business, spending about $400,000.00 a year paying land owners for the space.
Sash and I stopped there and bought a few souvenirs for our friends and family. I picked up a pair of buffalo shaped earrings for her, while she bought herself a furry vest made from some kind of animal hair.
But Wall Drug isn't the only tourist trap in town. The success of its business spawned dozens of other shops, restaurants, and bars all along Main Street. Of course, wherever there are bikers, Harley-Davidson puts up another logo-shop. Right across the street is Badlands Bar. And further down the street is the Wounded Knee Museum, where you can learn how 300 Lakota Indians were laid to waste with the help of tax dollars.
Wall Drug Store
510 Main Street
Wall, SD 57790-0401
(605) 279-2175
http://www.walldrug.com/
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| Hundreds of Wall Drug Store signs like this span the State. |
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| The famous Wall Drug brontosaurus marks the I-90 Exit in Wall, SD |
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| Pulling into Wall Drug. |
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| Souvenirs with "Wall Drug" logos all over them |
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| This mannequin in Wall Drug knows a lot of secrets |
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| Sash bought this furry motorcycle vest at Wall Drug. It's made in the USA, from real animal fur, but we don't know what animal. It's soft and fine, perhaps fox. |
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| The fur on her vest blows in the wind. |
Sash:
ReplyDeletesorry, I'm behind. I stayed a night in Murdo, SD but I was in a hurry and didn't notice the 1880 sign.
I also stopped at Wall Drugs, I mean, how can you not stop after seeing their signs 100 miles away. I walked down the street and over to the H-D store too. Seems like there is nothing else there except to buy something you don't need
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
I have a picture sitting next to the mannequin too. Of course it's a big tourist trap. It's the same if you drive down I95 on the way south, as soon as you enter North Carolina you start seeing signs for "South of the border" in South Carolina, by the time you get there you just have to stop to see what it is. It is also the last time you ever stop there :-)
ReplyDeleteIn eastern Arizona, along the I-10, there's signs for "The Thing??" and it's same gimmick.
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