Vacation Stop in Wall, South Dakota
Wall Drug Still Offers Free Ice Water to Thirsty Travelers
Jun 11, 2009
December 1931, Ted Hustead and his wife Dorothy bought a drugstore in the small town of Wall located at the edge of the Bad Lands of South Dakota. At that time, most places were going bust, as it was the depression. During that year wall had a population of 326 poor people and business was bad. The summer of 1936, Dorothy had an idea. She thought the people driving through must be thirsty and she suggested to Ted to put up a sign offering free ice water at their store, Wall Drug. Although Ted thought it was silly, he did wife requested. Little did he know this was the birth of something exceptional. By the time he got back to his store, people were lining up for their free glass of ice water.
Ted discovered that signs were the way to go and he began painting signs and putting them up to draw in customers. By the 1960s, Wall Drug had over 3,000 signs along the highway. American highways. They are even overseas in Paris, Kenya, and London.
Free ice water and five-cent coffee is the trademark, but this is just the drawing card. It has a $3 million dollar art collection and accommodations to keep 2,000 guests nightly. At wall drug, there is a variety of things from a furry 6-foot tall rabbit on wheels, to a giant fiberglass jack lope. It even has a life-sized T-rex that roars every few minutes. This is located behind the Jurassic Park-style electric fence. He stands guard along a hallway of framed awards and press clipping that Wall Drug has received during the years.
Displays of the Wild West and Mechanical Creations
Wall Drug has stuffed animal heads, totem poles, carved statues and mechanical displays.
Inside the nooks and crannies that surround the shops inside Wall Drug, there are mechanical creations mimicking storefronts in a Wild West town. One is the famous “Chuck Wagon Quartette” that the Husteads smuggled out of Mays Department Store in Denver Colorado. They sing Tumbling Tumbleweeds every 20 minutes. Just down the hall is Travelers Chapel. This is a replica of an 1850s Trappist monastery.
There is also a display of the original Wall Drug that displays the machine that used to make suppositories. There is an indoor cafeteria where coffee is a nickel and the kitchen makes homemade donuts and fudge.
In the 1960, I-90 bypassed Wall Drug and some thought it would be the end of an era. Once again, the Husteads had other ideas. They hired the man who built “Christ of the Ozarks” and “Rapid City’s Dinosaur Park,” Emmet Sullivan to build them something spectacular. . An 80-foot long dinosaur with light bulb eyes next to the freeway.
Wall Drug Open for Business
Wall Drug is still open and doing well with their old-fashioned values that started back in 1931. Signs will point the way and tell you how many miles are left. Wall drug has gift shops, museums, restaurants and of course the original Drug store.
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