An imaginary visit to Rapid City, South Dakota in the 1960s


Time-travel with me, and let's visit Rapid City, South Dakota in the 1960s. All we will need will be a postcard that I found on eBay, and our imaginations.

By the way, whether I visited Rapid City, South Dakota as a kid or not, I have no idea. I grew up in Minneapolis, and I know that we vacationed in South Dakota (I seem to remember dinosaurs), but if we did, well, I was just a kid and was probably more interested in my Captain America comics than anything around me. If I have any memories, it's of my dad taking away my comic books because I would get car sick.

But there's no danger of that today, I'm sitting comfortably in front of my computer, and hopefully you are, too. And the first thing that I notice is the name "Johnson" on the Hotel. There's also "Olson" on the store on the left. I grew up with a lot of people who had those names in the Midwest. And keep in mind that South Dakota was the Near West, as compared to Arizona which is the Far West, as viewed by where most people in the United States have lived historically. Eventually Arizona just became the West, and places like Rapid City, South Dakota came to be called the Midwest.


It looks like Rapid City, South Dakota was a bustling place in the 1960s. I see a lot of cars, but the traffic must have been light, because I see diagonal parking. Anytime you see that you know that it's safe to back out of a parking spot across two lanes of traffic. You don't see that kind of parking much in LA, or in Phoenix! By the way, is it my imagination or is the door missing on that yellow Cadillac going by? Hope he gets it fixed before winter!


I would like to know the story behind that exotic looking building there with the spire, but right now I'm thinking that the restaurant looks good. No question as to whether we could get a gin-and-tonic there with our steak. Mmmmm... they would be serving wonderful steaks, probably from Iowa! Best beef in the world, take it from me. No disrespect to the Angus beef you can get here in Arizona, just a matter of personal preference - I grew up with Midwestern beef.


I see a couple of old-fashioned buildings back there behind Mill's Drugs. My best guess is that the "strip mall" that you see there is fairly modern. Nice to see Old Glory waving, and it looks like there are actually two flags there. Double the patriotism, I guess.

Thank you for visiting Rapid City, South Dakota in the 1960s with me!
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Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 31, 2021 at 3:23 PM

    Im interested in this picture and other pictures of downtown Rapid City. can you call me 305 333-3955 or email ron@coolcool.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brad HallAugust 31, 2021 at 4:33 PM

      This is the only pic I have. I found it on eBay on a postcard, which is a good source for this kind of thing. Hope this helps!

      Delete

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