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Wall Drug Store, often called simply Wall Drug, is a roadside attraction and tourist stop located in the town of Wall, South Dakota, adjacent to Badlands National Park. Wall Drug consists of a collection of cowboy-themed stores, including a drug store, gift shop, several restaurants, and various other stores, as well as an art gallery and an 80-foot (24 m) brontosaurus sculpture. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity rather than being run individually. The New York Times has described Wall Drug as "a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown [that] draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town".^[1]

History

Wall Drug historic display, including items from Hustead's early practice

The small-town drugstore made its first step towards fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931.^[2] Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a Catholic church in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere," and strove to make a living.^[3] Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, thought of advertising free ice water to thirsty travelers heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles (97 km) to the west. From that time on, business was brisk.

Ted's son, Bill Hustead, also a pharmacist, returned to Wall and joined the family business in 1951. Under his direction, Wall Drug grew into a cowboy-themed mall and department store. In addition, he created the Art Gallery Cafe, with a design inspired by Club "21" in New York City, one of his favorite restaurants. In addition, Wall Drug includes a western art museum, a chapel based on the one found at New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa, another Bill Hustead creation, and an 80-foot (24 m) brontosaurus that can be seen right off Interstate 90. It was designed by Emmet Sullivan, who also created the dinosaurs at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City and Dinosaur World in Arkansas.

Bill Hustead had seven children, and his oldest child, Rick Hustead, is the current proprietor of Wall Drug Store.

Marketing campaign

Wall Drug earns much of its fame from its self-promotion. Billboards advertising the establishment can be seen for hundreds of miles throughout South Dakota and the neighboring states. In addition, many visitors of Wall Drug have erected signs throughout the world announcing the miles to Wall Drug from famous locations. By 1981, Wall Drug was claiming it was giving away 20,000 cups of water per day during the peak tourist season, lasting from Memorial Day until Labor Day, and during the hottest days of the summer.

Most of Wall Drug's advertisement billboards can be found on an approximately 650-mile-long (1,050 km) stretch of Interstate 90 from Minnesota to Billings, Montana. The signs are created by South Dakota billboard artists, including Dobby Hansen and Barry Knutson of Philip.

Today

Animatronic *Tyrannosaurus rex* found in Wall Drug's Backyard building

To date, Wall Drug still offers free ice water, but as they have become more popular, they have started to offer free bumper stickers to aid in promotion, and coffee for 5 cents. Some popular free bumper stickers read "Where the heck is Wall Drug?" and "Have You Dug Wall Drug?".

Wall Drug has over 300 original oil paintings in the Western Art Gallery Dining Rooms. This acquisition represents one of the country's best private collections of original Western and Illustration Art. Artists featured include N. C. Wyeth, Harvey Dunn, Dean Cornwell, Louis Glanzman, and Harold Von Schmidt.

When the United States Air Force was still operating Minuteman missile silos in the western South Dakota plains, Wall Drug used to offer free coffee and doughnuts to service personnel if they stopped in on their way to or from Ellsworth Air Force Base (50 miles (80 km) west on Interstate 90). To this day, Wall Drug continues to offer coffee and doughnuts which are free to active military personnel and also popular among ordinary tourists.

Ted and Bill Hustead died in 1999. The following day, South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow began his annual State of the State address by commemorating Hustead as "a guy that figured out that free ice water could turn you into a phenomenal success in the middle of a semi-arid desert way out in the middle of someplace".^[1]

Media references

In 1981, Wall Drug was featured in Time magazine as one of the largest tourist attractions in the north^[4]
In his 1989 book, The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson wrote, "It's an awful place, one of the world's worst tourist traps, but I loved it and I won't have a word said against it."^[5]
The history of Wall Drug was told in a two-episode story arc of the podcast The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd
In 2016, Z Nation featured Wall Drug in season 3, episode 8
The 2020 drama film Nomadland features scenes where the main characters work at Wall Drug and visit the dinosaur statue

Gallery

The Wall Drug Cowboy Orchestra
A typical Wall Drug billboard
Sign in Afghanistan
Wall Drug sign in Antarctica – Free Ice Water, 9,333 miles
Wall Drug Jackalope, man for size reference
The Wall, South Dakota Community Library

References

^ ^a ^b Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. (January 17, 1999). "Ted Hustead Is Dead at 96; Built the Popular Wall Drug". The New York Times.
^ Kirouac, Matt. "The Quirky History of South Dakota's Wall Drug Store". The Culture Trip. The Culture Trip Ltd. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
^ Murtaugh, Taysha (2017-05-25). "Why This Small Town of 882 People Attracts 22,000 Visitors a Day". Country Living. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
^ "In South Dakota: Buffalo Burgers at Wall Drug". Time. August 13, 1981. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008.
^ Bryson, Bill. The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America (2011 ed.). Random House Digital. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-385-67456-0. Excerpts available at Google Books.

External links

43°59′36″N 102°14′30″W / 43.993231°N 102.241795°W / 43.993231; -102.241795

[Hustead_obit-1] Thomas, Robert McG. Jr. (January 17, 1999). "Ted Hustead Is Dead at 96; Built the Popular Wall Drug". The New York Times.

[2] Kirouac, Matt. "The Quirky History of South Dakota's Wall Drug Store". The Culture Trip. The Culture Trip Ltd. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

[3] Murtaugh, Taysha (2017-05-25). "Why This Small Town of 882 People Attracts 22,000 Visitors a Day". Country Living. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

[4] "In South Dakota: Buffalo Burgers at Wall Drug". Time. August 13, 1981. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008.

[5] Bryson, Bill. The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America (2011 ed.). Random House Digital. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-385-67456-0. Excerpts available at Google Books.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Tourist attraction and shopping mall in Wall, South Dakota}}
 [[File:Wall Drug.jpg|thumb|Wall Drug entrance]]
-'''Wall Drug Store''', often called simply '''Wall Drug''', is a [[roadside attraction]] and [[tourist attraction|tourist stop]] located in the town of [[Wall, South Dakota]], adjacent to [[Badlands National Park]]. Wall Drug consists of a collection of cowboy-themed stores, including a [[Pharmacy (shop)|drug store]], [[gift shop]], several [[restaurant]]s, and various other stores, as well as an art gallery and an 80-foot (24 m) [[brontosaurus]] sculpture. Unlike a traditional [[shopping mall]], all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity rather than being run individually. ''[[The New York Times]]'' has described Wall Drug as "a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown [that] draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town."<ref name="Hustead obit">{{Cite news | author-link=Robert McG. Thomas Jr. | first=Robert McG. Jr. | last=Thomas | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/17/us/ted-hustead-is-dead-at-96-built-the-popular-wall-drug.html | title=Ted Hustead Is Dead at 96; Built the Popular Wall Drug | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=January 17, 1999 }}</ref>
+'''Wall Drug Store''', often called simply '''Wall Drug''', is a [[roadside attraction]] and [[tourist attraction|tourist stop]] located in the town of [[Wall, South Dakota]], adjacent to [[Badlands National Park]]. Wall Drug consists of a collection of cowboy-themed stores, including a [[Pharmacy (shop)|drug store]], [[gift shop]], several [[restaurant]]s, and various other stores, as well as an art gallery and an 80-foot (24 m) [[brontosaurus]] sculpture. Unlike a traditional [[shopping mall]], all the stores at Wall Drug operate under a single entity rather than being run individually. ''[[The New York Times]]'' has described Wall Drug as "a sprawling tourist attraction of international renown [that] draws some two million annual visitors to a remote town".<ref name="Hustead obit">{{Cite news | author-link=Robert McG. Thomas Jr. | first=Robert McG. Jr. | last=Thomas | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/17/us/ted-hustead-is-dead-at-96-built-the-popular-wall-drug.html | title=Ted Hustead Is Dead at 96; Built the Popular Wall Drug | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=January 17, 1999 }}</ref>
 ==History==
 {{More citations needed section|date=July 2021}}
 [[File:OldWallDrugs.jpg|thumb|Wall Drug historic display, including items from Hustead's early practice]]
-The small town drugstore made its first step towards fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kirouac |first1=Matt |title=The Quirky History of South Dakota’s Wall Drug Store |url=https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/south-dakota/articles/the-quirky-history-of-south-dakotas-wall-drug-store/ |website=The Culture Trip |publisher=The Culture Trip Ltd. |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic church]] in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere," and strove to make a living.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Murtaugh|first=Taysha|date=2017-05-25|title=Why This Small Town of 882 People Attracts 22,000 Visitors a Day|url=https://www.countryliving.com/life/travel/a43271/wall-drug-store-south-dakota/|access-date=2020-12-10|website=Country Living|language=en-US}}</ref> Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, thought of advertising free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly opened [[Mount Rushmore]] monument {{convert|60|mi|km}} to the west. From that time on, business was brisk.
+The small-town drugstore made its first step towards fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kirouac |first1=Matt |title=The Quirky History of South Dakota’s Wall Drug Store |url=https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/south-dakota/articles/the-quirky-history-of-south-dakotas-wall-drug-store/ |website=The Culture Trip |publisher=The Culture Trip Ltd. |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic church]] in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere," and strove to make a living.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Murtaugh|first=Taysha|date=2017-05-25|title=Why This Small Town of 882 People Attracts 22,000 Visitors a Day|url=https://www.countryliving.com/life/travel/a43271/wall-drug-store-south-dakota/|access-date=2020-12-10|website=Country Living|language=en-US}}</ref> Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, thought of advertising free ice water to thirsty travelers heading to the newly opened [[Mount Rushmore]] monument {{convert|60|mi|km}} to the west. From that time on, business was brisk.
-Ted’s son, Bill Hustead, also a pharmacist, returned to Wall and joined the family business in 1951.  Under his direction, Wall Drug grew into a [[cowboy]]-themed mall and [[department store]]. He created the Art Gallery Cafe, with a design inspired by Club “21” in New York City, one of his favorite restaurants.  Wall Drug includes a western art museum, a chapel based on the one found at [[New Melleray Abbey]] near [[Dubuque, Iowa]], another Bill Hustead creation, and an {{convert|80|ft|m|adj=on}} [[brontosaurus]] that can be seen right off [[Interstate 90]].  It was designed by [[Emmet Sullivan]] who also created the dinosaurs at [[Dinosaur Park]] in  [[Rapid City, South Dakota|Rapid City]] and [[Dinosaur World (Arkansas)|Dinosaur World]] in [[Arkansas]].
+Ted's son, Bill Hustead, also a pharmacist, returned to Wall and joined the family business in 1951. Under his direction, Wall Drug grew into a [[cowboy]]-themed mall and [[department store]]. In addition, he created the Art Gallery Cafe, with a design inspired by Club "21" in New York City, one of his favorite restaurants. In addition, Wall Drug includes a western art museum, a chapel based on the one found at [[New Melleray Abbey]] near [[Dubuque, Iowa]], another Bill Hustead creation, and an {{convert|80|ft|m|adj=on}} [[brontosaurus]] that can be seen right off [[Interstate 90]].  It was designed by [[Emmet Sullivan (sculptor)|Emmet Sullivan]], who also created the dinosaurs at [[Dinosaur Park]] in [[Rapid City, South Dakota|Rapid City]] and [[Dinosaur World (Arkansas)|Dinosaur World]] in [[Arkansas]].
-Bill Hustead had seven children and his oldest child, Rick Hustead, is the current proprietor of Wall Drug Store.
+Bill Hustead had seven children, and his oldest child, Rick Hustead, is the current proprietor of Wall Drug Store.
 ==Marketing campaign==
-Wall Drug earns much of its fame from its self-promotion. [[Billboard]]s advertising the establishment can be seen for hundreds of miles throughout South Dakota and the neighboring states. In addition, many visitors of Wall Drug have erected signs throughout the world announcing the miles to Wall Drug from famous locations. By 1981 Wall Drug was claiming it was giving away 20,000 cups of water per day during the peak tourist season, lasting from [[Memorial Day]] until [[Labor Day]], and during the hottest days of the summer.
+Wall Drug earns much of its fame from its self-promotion. [[Billboard]]s advertising the establishment can be seen for hundreds of miles throughout South Dakota and the neighboring states. In addition, many visitors of Wall Drug have erected signs throughout the world announcing the miles to Wall Drug from famous locations. By 1981, Wall Drug was claiming it was giving away 20,000 cups of water per day during the peak tourist season, lasting from [[Memorial Day]] until [[Labor Day]], and during the hottest days of the summer.
 Most of Wall Drug's advertisement billboards can be found on an approximately {{convert|650|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} stretch of [[Interstate 90]] from [[Minnesota]] to [[Billings, Montana]].  The signs are created by South Dakota billboard artists, including Dobby Hansen and Barry Knutson of [[Philip, South Dakota|Philip]].
 == Today ==
-[[File:TRexWallDrug.jpg|thumb|upright|Wall Drug dinosaur model]]
+[[File:TRexWallDrug.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Animatronics|Animatronic]] ''[[Tyrannosaurus|Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' found in Wall Drug's Backyard building ]]
 To date, Wall Drug still offers free ice water, but as they have become more popular, they have started to offer free [[bumper sticker]]s to aid in [[promotion (marketing)|promotion]], and coffee for 5 cents. Some popular free bumper stickers read "Where the heck is Wall Drug?" and "Have You Dug Wall Drug?".
-Wall Drug has over 300 original oil paintings in the Western art Gallery Dining Rooms. This acquisition represents one of the best private collections of original Western and Illustration Art in the country. Artists featured include [[N. C. Wyeth|N.&nbsp;C. Wyeth]], [[Harvey Dunn]], [[Dean Cornwell]], [[Louis Glanzman]], and [[Harold von Schmidt|Harold Von Schmidt]].
+Wall Drug has over 300 original oil paintings in the Western Art Gallery Dining Rooms. This acquisition represents one of the country's best private collections of original Western and Illustration Art. Artists featured include [[N. C. Wyeth|N.&nbsp;C. Wyeth]], [[Harvey Dunn]], [[Dean Cornwell]], [[Louis Glanzman]], and [[Harold von Schmidt|Harold Von Schmidt]].
-When the [[United States Air Force]] was still operating [[LGM-30 Minuteman|Minuteman missile]] silos in the western South Dakota plains, Wall Drug used to offer free coffee and donuts to service personnel if they stopped in on their way to or from [[Ellsworth Air Force Base]] ({{Convert|50|mi|km}} west on Interstate 90). Wall Drug continues to offer free coffee and donuts to active military personnel.
+When the [[United States Air Force]] was still operating [[LGM-30 Minuteman|Minuteman missile]] silos in the western South Dakota plains, Wall Drug used to offer free coffee and doughnuts to service personnel if they stopped in on their way to or from [[Ellsworth Air Force Base]] ({{Convert|50|mi|km}} west on Interstate 90). To this day, Wall Drug continues to offer coffee and doughnuts which are free to active military personnel and also popular among ordinary tourists.
-Ted Hustead died in 1999. The following day, South Dakota Governor [[Bill Janklow]] began his annual [[State of the State address]] by commemorating Hustead as "a guy that figured out that free ice water could turn you into a phenomenal success in the middle of a semi-arid desert way out in the middle of someplace."<ref name="Hustead obit" />
+Ted and Bill Hustead died in 1999. The following day, South Dakota Governor [[Bill Janklow]] began his annual [[State of the State address]] by commemorating Hustead as "a guy that figured out that free ice water could turn you into a phenomenal success in the middle of a semi-arid desert way out in the middle of someplace".<ref name="Hustead obit" />
 === Media references ===
-*In 1981, Wall Drug was featured in [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine as one of the largest tourist attractions in the north.<ref>{{Cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954926,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314012047/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954926,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 14, 2008 | title=In South Dakota: Buffalo Burgers at Wall Drug | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=August 13, 1981 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>
+* In 1981, Wall Drug was featured in [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine as one of the largest tourist attractions in the north<ref>{{Cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954926,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314012047/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954926,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 14, 2008 | title=In South Dakota: Buffalo Burgers at Wall Drug | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=August 13, 1981 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>
-*In his 1989 book ''[[The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America|The Lost Continent]]'', [[Bill Bryson]] wrote, "It's an awful place, one of the world's worst [[tourist trap]]s, but I loved it and I won't have a word said against it."<ref>{{Cite book | author-link=Bill Bryson | first=Bill | last=Bryson | title=[[The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America]] | publisher=[[Random House]] Digital | edition=2011 | isbn=978-0-385-67456-0 | page=199| id = [https://books.google.com/books?id=DKftvABBxH0C&pg=PT199 Excerpts available] at [[Google Books]]}}
+* In his 1989 book, ''[[The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America|The Lost Continent]]'', [[Bill Bryson]] wrote, "It's an awful place, one of the world's worst [[tourist trap]]s, but I loved it and I won't have a word said against it."<ref>{{Cite book | author-link=Bill Bryson | first=Bill | last=Bryson | title=[[The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America]] | publisher=[[Random House]] Digital | edition=2011 | isbn=978-0-385-67456-0 | page=199| id = [https://books.google.com/books?id=DKftvABBxH0C&pg=PT199 Excerpts available] at [[Google Books]]}}
 </ref>
-*The history of Wall Drug was told in a two-episode story arc of the podcast ''[[The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd]]''.
+* The history of Wall Drug was told in a two-episode story arc of the podcast ''[[The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd]]''
-*In 2016 ''[[Z Nation]]'' featured Wall Drug in season 3, episode 8.
+* In 2016, ''[[Z Nation]]'' featured Wall Drug in season 3, episode 8
-*The 2020 film ''[[Nomadland (film)|Nomadland]]'' features scenes where the main characters work at Wall Drug, and later visit the dinosaur statue.
+* The 2020 drama film ''[[Nomadland (film)|Nomadland]]'' features scenes where the main characters work at Wall Drug and visit the dinosaur statue
 ==Gallery==
@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 Image:Wall_Drug_9333_Miles.jpg|Wall Drug sign in Antarctica – Free Ice Water, 9,333 miles
 Image:Wall_drug_jackalope.jpg|Wall Drug [[Jackalope]], man for size reference
-Image:Wall South Dakota Community Library.jpg|The Wall, South Dakota Community Library.
+Image:Wall South Dakota Community Library.jpg|The Wall, South Dakota Community Library
 </gallery>
@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 == See also ==
 * [[South of the Border (attraction)|South of the Border]], a similar attraction off [[Interstate 95 in South Carolina]],   just south of the border with [[North Carolina]]
+* [[Badlands National Park]]
 * [[Breezewood, Pennsylvania]]
 * [[Uranus, Missouri]]
@@ Line 60: / Line 61: @@
 ==External links==
 {{Commons category|Wall Drug}}
+* {{official}}
-* [http://www.walldrug.com/ www.walldrug.com]&nbsp;— Wall Drug site
 * [http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/SDWALdrug.html RoadsideAmerica.com's Report]
 * [http://www.oldsads.org/oldsads/a_41.html Wall Drug in postcards – History site]
@@ Line 77: / Line 78: @@
 [[Category:Tourist attractions in Pennington County, South Dakota]]
 [[Category:Health care companies based in South Dakota]]
+[[Category:South Dakota culture]]

Authority control databases
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