South Dakota State Building
Architect: Van Meter & Perman, Aberdeen, South Dakota
Area: 7,068
Cost: $17,000
Picturesque World’s Fair, An Elaborate Collection of Colored Views—Published with the Endorsement and Approval of George R. Davis, 1894
THE SOUTH DAKOTA BUILDING.—The state of South Dakota was fortunate in the location of its building. It stood just south of the Fifty-seventh street entrance to the Fair grounds, and was the first object to attract the eye of a great proportion of the visitors. It was a very attractive object, too, speaking well for its state, with its solid looking exterior and its graceful but dignified Romanesque style of architecture. The entrance was finely pillared and below it ornaments of polished sandstone and jasper were arranged in a semicircular pattern, the effect being extremely rich. Inside the entrance were parlors, and beyond them a brilliantly lighted rotunda where were displayed a number of objects of decided interest. Among them were a series of petrifications, some of them being whole sections of trees three feet in diameter and beautifully agatized. One especially beautiful specimen was from Arizona. A Swiss chalet composed of many colored minerals with a gable marble roof was of most ingenious construction. In the center of the rotunda was a column surmounted by an eagle, surrounded at its base by a number of splendid mineral specimens. Tin ore, blocked tin, silver ore and blocks of jasper were other features of the display. The fossil remains of antediluvian animals, some of them monsters, were shown, and in other rooms were the exhibits of agricultural and horticultural products of the state. The fruit exhibit was surmounted by a large South Dakota sheep, a small-beaded animal of fine breed, and there were other objects equally suggestive of the new state’s specialties in production.
South Dakota State Building
Returning now to the place where we first began our visit to the State Buildings, we find another group of them extending southward instead of eastward. Directly opposite the Nebraska Building which was the first one visited, is that of South Dakota. It has a prominent and commanding location, as it deserves. The building measures sixty feet by one hundred feet and is two stories high. As far as possible, South Dakota material only was used in its construction. The exterior is coated with Yankton cement, finished in imitation of cut stone. Mines and minerals, grains and grasses, fossils, pottery, clay, etc., have been given due attention, and form a large display, showing the diversified interests and resources of the State. Its dairy, sheep and cattle products have not been neglected, and a pomological exhibit is surprisingly fine. The educational department also makes an excellent showing. Curious fossils from the bed of the Cheyenne river, immense blocks of fine coal from her coal fields, and photographic views of her varied scenery help to make up the creditable display from this State.
South Dakota State Building
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