Downtown in Rapid City in Pennington County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Rapid City's Downtown Historic District

The Downtown Rapid City Historic District

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 20, 2026

1. Rapid City's Downtown Historic District Marker

Inscription.

The Downtown Commercial Historic District, in which you now stand, comprises all the buildings on both side of the 600 blocks of Main and St. Joseph Streets and the 500 blocks of Sixth and Seventh Streets. Although you will see many "modern" storefronts dating from the 1950's and 1960's, look above street level to see history on display: most of the buildings you see date from the 1880's to the 1930's. In this fifty year period, Rapid City went from a little cowtown with mud streets and board sidewalks, a typical western collection of one-story, wooden, false-front buildings, to a thriving commercial center for a four state area and the beginnings of a burgeoning tourism industry.

The streets making up the Historic District have long been the center of town, and in their history you can trace the commercial development of Rapid City, from the first brick buildings of 1882 to the nearby multi-story office buildings of today. In recent years, with the development of the shopping centers and malls, many of the larger department stores, grocery stores, etc., have closed or moved to other locations, but it takes only

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a little imagination to populate these streets again with turn-of-the-century merchants in starched white collars, raucous cowboys riding into town for a celebration, and elegantly dressed shoppers crowding the sidewalks and wide streets in search of a bargain.

The Rapid City Downtown Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places of the US Department of [the] Interior in 1975. A self-guided "Walking Tour" brochure of the District and its surroundings is available at many downtown locations.

[Left photo caption]
The Harney Hotel. The crown jewel of Rapid City's hostelries was the Harney Hotel, on the northwest corner of Seventh and Main. This three-story brick building, built in 1886 with its cast iron balcony on Main Street, was the center of almost every activity in town for the next thirty years, from volunteer firemen's hosecart races to Stockmen's Day parades and speeches by such distinguished visitors as President William Howard Taft. Torn down nearly a quarter of a century ago, this was a great loss to Rapid City's Historic District.

[Right photo caption]
Lockhart's Bear. For many years, Frank

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 20, 2026

2. Rapid City's Downtown Historic District Marker

Former First National Bank across 7th Street

Lockhart had a trained bear that he would bring to downtown Rapid City. Frank also had a large shepherd dog, and it was like a circus to see them play together. He would head them through town, with the public giving them treats. The bear would eat almost anything, and seemed to love drinking beer from a bottle.

[Top left building drawing]
First National Bank: 631 Main Street
In 1882, the First National Bank built the first brick business building in Rapid City on this corner. In 1914, the original building was replaced by this Classical style building, which the bank (now Norwest Bank) occupied until 1958. It later was the temporary home of the American State Bank.

[Top right building drawing]
The Buell Building: 516-524 Sixth Street
Built in 1889, the two-story Italianate style Buell Building with its "Moorish Dome" on the corner has become a symbol of downtown Rapid City's historic district. Buell, a prominent la[w]yer, had his office here; the Buell family owned the building until the 1970's, when the interior and exterior were restored. The portions of the building along Seventh Street were storefronts at the street level

Former First National Bank Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 20, 2026

3. Former First National Bank Building

(stained glass above one door still bears the legend "Levinson"), with offices on the second floor. Originally, the U.S. Land Office and Weather Bureau were in this building; colored flags were flown from the pole atop the dome to give the weather forecast.

Erected by the Rapid City Historic Preservation Commission, National Park Service, and Norwest Bank.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.

Location. 44° 4.874′ N, 103° 13.742′ W. Marker is in Rapid City, South Dakota, in Pennington County. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of 7th Street and Main Street (Business Interstate 90), on the right when traveling south on 7th Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 701 Main Street, Rapid City SD 57701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in West River

and in the Badlands.

It is also in the American Black Hills,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

on the prairies,

and on the Northern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western

Buell Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., September 20, 2026

4. Buell Building

World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Lyndon B. Johnson (here, next to this marker); Rapid City Area Vietnam War Honored Dead (here, next to this marker); The Growth of Rapid City (a few steps from this marker); James Monroe (within shouting distance of this marker); Vanishing Elements of Our Past (within shouting distance of this marker); The National Humane Alliance Fountain (within shouting distance of this marker); Andrew Johnson (within shouting distance of this marker); John Quincy Adams (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rapid City.

Also see . . . Rapid City Historic Commercial District Nomination Form. (Submitted on October 11, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 11, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 11, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.