Rapid City
Gateway to the Black Hills
Founded in 1876 by a group of disheartened prospectors that had come to the Black Hills in search of gold. John Brennan and Samuel Scott, along with a small party of men, laid out the site of the present-day Rapid City. They designated six blocks in the center of the site to be the business district and appointed committees to convince prospective merchants and their families to locate in the new settlement. Throughout the years, Rapid City has grown to be South Dakota’s second-largest city.
The economic base in Rapid City remains fundamentally the same as it was in the 1800s. Since its beginning, Rapid City has been a center for commerce, culture, transportation and education. Rapid City enjoys a diverse economy that includes agriculture, forestry, government, tourism, healthcare, manufacturing and an extremely strong service sector.
City Information
Elevate Rapid City – Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development organizations to lead the economic development and small business efforts in the Black Hills region.
Black Hills Harley Davidson® – The largest full service Harley–Davidson Dealership in the MIDWEST
Rice’s Rapid Motorsports & Polaris of the Black Hills – Honda, Suzuki, Can-Am, KTM, Sea-Doo, Ski-Doo, Victory, CFMOTO, Manitou, and more
Arts/Museums
Dahl Arts Center – The Dahl Arts Center is in the heart of Downtown Rapid City and contains 3 galleries with a continuous rotation of talented local and regional artists.
Museum of Geology – Free campus geology museum features mounted skeletons, rare fossils & exhibits, plus a gift shop.
Journey Museum – The Journey Museum and Learning Center is one of the more unique museums to experience not only the history of the Black Hills, but Native American culture.
South Dakota Air and Space Museum – Aviation museum located in Box Elder, South Dakota, just outside the main gate of Ellsworth AFB. It is dedicated to the history of the United States Air Force and aviation in South Dakota
Parks/Attractions
Dinosaur Park – Dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city.
Reptile Gardens – Reptile Gardens has more species and subspecies of reptiles than any other zoo or wild animal park in the world!
Story Book Island – Quaint park with playground attractions based on characters & locations found in children’s books.