[bcfranke]

Here are a few pics of South Dakota's best skyline. Nestled within the beautiful Black Hills and with a metro pop. of 120,00 Rapid City is second to none in South Dakota. Sioux Falls may be bigger but Rapid City's skyline and setting just plain have it beat (which isn't really saying much but hey it's South Dakota). http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1118.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1107.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1089.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1097.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1124.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1099.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1112.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1088.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon685.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon686.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1086.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1083.jpg

[bcfranke]

Here are a few more I took from just outside Rapid City in the Black Hills and Badlands region.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon371.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon361.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1154.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1066.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon644.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1030.jpg

[Xing]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1089.jpg

No.

[bcfranke]

You know it.

[cabasse]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1083.jpg

i've never realized the scale of those microwave antennae until i saw this thread... damn, those are huge. (or maybe it's just these particular ones are jumbo-sized)

hooray for sd, i never thought it could ever have a skyline but this is definitely something. is that a metro of 12k or 120k?

[mind field]

skyline? LOL.

[Paintballer1708]

Never have seen Rapid City before. The area outside of the city is very scenic.

[bcfranke]

Metro is 120k (according to Forbes) Crapid Shity it self is only about 65k.

[F-Misthebest]

Those pics are beautiful. I really like Rapid City. I've been there once. Last year when I went to Mount Rushmore, I really liked it. Great Skyline. Yeah, I agree that Rapid City has a better skyline then Sioux Falls.

[Halovet]

skyline? LOL.I see nothing to Laugh at here. The Skyline is very nice, and those Hills in the background just set the whole thing off. I love it.

[toddguy]

What little I know of Rapid City is related to the flood in 72, and the subsequent buy out of much of the Rapid Creek floodplain-which I understand was a great success really..an example of what other cities could do to minimize natural hazards. I hope they are keeping development out of that park strip along the creek. Actually I think Rapid City has a decent skyline for it's size and that ridge through the center sets it off and also looks like a nice place for picture-taking. Now I am a bit disappointed that there were ...no concrete dinosaur pics!!!:D

[Ex-Ithacan]

Never saw a Rapid City thread before. Since I'm a sucker for smaller cities, this is a treat. Thanks for the pics.

[James Bond Agent 007]

I always wondered about this place. RC sorta seems like a city that could really take off some day, what with the Black Hills nearby and stuff.

[bcfranke]

Yeah, it's to bad that we haven't seen all the corporate bank relocations like Sioux Falls has. We've been in the top 5 of Forbes list for best small metro's for business for the last 3 or 4 years but we need some better employers for it to really take off. There is good growth in the region but I would like to see it really boom.

[Paintballer1708]

Has Rapid City's population been growing? Is it like North Dakota where the only growing city is the largest city?

[fredstrom]

Rapid City has been growing, but not as quickly as Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls is up around 20,000 since the last census, with its metro up around 30,000. Rapid City may be up around 7,000. South Dakota is not nearly as stagnant as North Dakota. Many of its smaller cities (10,000 to 25,000) are seeing some growth. Watertown and Spearfish in particular are doing well.

[bcfranke]

Spearfish and the whole Black Hills are really doing well but home prices have shoot through the roof in the short 8 months I've been back. There is not much separating the front range towns of Rapid City, Sturgis and Spearfish anymore, that is were the large population jump has been, not confined to the city limits.

[Paintballer1708]

My one friend from Arizona is moving to Sturgis in March. He wants to move his family away from the problems in Tucson. He says its a great area. They really like the Blackhills area.

[rrskylar]

^Does he own a Harley and a pickup truck with a rifle rack?

[Hayward]

Great pics. The only thing I've ever heard about regarding Rapid City was its great flood.

[fredstrom]

This the Rapid City thread I know, but I just saw new census numbers. South Dakota has thie highest growth rate in the Midwest at 0.9% annual. Of course that's easy to do when the population is so small. That's an increase of over 7,000 people. By comparison, North Dakota grew by 0.2% for a numerical gain of 1,500 people.

[skate342]

nice photos. it's been too long since i've been to rapid. i hope to go back soon.

-your neighbor to the east.

[Lexy]

Never saw a Rapid City thread before. Since I'm a sucker for smaller cities, this is a treat. Thanks for the pics.

I agree. Great thread and the pics are awesome.

[Robert Pence]

Not so bad at all, and the setting looks gorgeous!:tup:

[MNMike]

The best part about Rapid city is that you can drive 30 minutes or less and be here:

http://cr043.k12.sd.us/MVC-009S.JPG
http://www.sunrisebirding.com/badlands/needles288.jpg

I don't think many people realize how beautiful the black hills really are.

[bcfranke]

Nice Needles pics. Yeah, the Black Hills really are amazing, they have a subtle beauty that just draws you in. Here are a few more I've taken in the Black Hills and Badlands.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1137.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1046.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1022.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1013.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1012.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1011.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon854.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon847.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon843.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon841.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon826.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon819.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon820.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon702.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon668.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon555.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon405.jpg

[Ex-Ithacan]

Wonderful pics, but some made me feel so lonesome. Thanks bcfranke.

[bcfranke]

No problem, it's nice to leave the city sometimes.

[Paintballer1708]

The Black Hills look like a great area to take a family vacation.

[Wolfmanfromsufu]

I love the Rapid City area. I currently live in Sioux Falls, but I try to make it to RC whenever I can. They have almost as many tall buildings as SF. I got some pictures from my most recent trip there, I'll try to get them up.

[Magnus1]

:previous: yes. please get on that. would love to see more of the home state here on SSP.

[Wolfmanfromsufu]

I didn't have as many as I though from my most recent trip, but here's some, the Rapid City shot has one of the dinos in it.
Somewhere on Needles highway
http://www.travisweb.net/forumpics/needls1.gif
Harney Peak
http://www.travisweb.net/forumpics/harney.gif
I think it's Cathedral Spires
http://www.travisweb.net/forumpics/spires.gif
Rapid City from Dino Hill.
http://www.travisweb.net/forumpics/rcskline.gif
And for comparison sake Sioux Falls from a hill
http://www.travisweb.net/forumpics/sfskyline.gif
I have more in my archives, I'll have to go through them when I have time.

[bcfranke]

Thanks for the pics. How did you find a hill in Sioux Falls? lol

[NewDetroit1]

Sioux falls has a much more dense downtown than RC, its downtown is also much more beautiful in many was.

[sodak]

Sioux falls has a much more dense downtown than RC, its downtown is also much more beautiful in many was.

I would agree with that. Rapid City may have a building or two which is a couple floors taller, but Sioux Falls' downtown is significantly more dense, with more pedestrian activity, shops, and resturaunts.

There are at least two significant office buildings under construction, one completed last year, and at least three more proposed. Plus two or three condo towers are going to begin constuction this summer.

Don't get me wrong, I love Rapid. I hope it can increase its growth. The rest of the country doesn't know what its missing.

[oilcan]

I was at Sturgis back in 2003.. and the downtown and surrounding area was vivarant with all the activities going on... i was impressed with Rapid Cities capability/potential.. The ride to Rushmore was very "theme parkish" and interesting.. overall it was nice to see memory pics I think it was a great little city..

Thanks..

[skate342]

I saw something on TV about a new tower going up in Rapid City? Know anything more about that bcfranke?

[oilcan]

I saw this and followed up online .. I won't "steal your thunder" to speak since this is not my backyard..

Rapid City "Mayor Jim Shaw is calling it the most exciting announcement concerning the downtown area in the last 25 years"

One of the locals should find it lets here the announcement : )

[skate342]

read in the newspaper today, here's an online version. sounds like it's a go!


Proposed $40M downtown high-rise could become state's tallest building


http://cmsimg.argusleader.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DF&Date=20070222&Category=NEWS02&ArtNo=702220314&Ref=AR&Profile=1008&MaxW=290

A 15-story high-rise proposed for downtown Rapid City could become South Dakota's tallest building.

The landmark at Sixth and St. Joseph, with space for retail, apartments and parking, would be 220 feet tall, developer Hani Shafai said Wednesday.

Shafai said his goal is not to claim any lofty distinction.

"Not really. The goal is to provide needed services, but if it comes out to be the tallest, that's fine," he said.

Shafai said he hopes to break ground this fall on the $40 million RushMont building. It would be kitty corner to the Alex Johnson hotel, which is 160 feet tall.

In Onida, northeast of Pierre, the Oahe Grain Co. elevator is 180 feet, or 210 with the flagpole.

In Sioux Falls, the spires at St. Joseph Cathedral reach 185 feet. The clock tower at the Old Courthouse Museum reaches 165 feet.

The Qwest structure at 10th and Dakota once reached 195 feet, but the company removed a microwave tower and so the height today for the 11-story building is 159 feet.

"Size doesn't really matter," said Larry Toll, Qwest's South Dakota president. "If they're going to build a building like that in downtown Rapid City, more power to them. Congratulations."

The Zip tower on Sixth Street, demolished in early 2006, was at 202 feet the tallest building in Sioux Falls. On that site will be a six-story office building called Cherapa Place and reaching 90 feet, said Koch Hazard Architects.

In Pierre, the state Capitol is 161 feet tall, the Bureau of Administration said.

Jim Shaw, Rapid City's mayor, said being tallest was not the goal.

"It would be a nice extra, so to speak," Shaw said. "But we're not in a race to see who can build the tallest building. This is more about downtown revitalization. ... We haven't had any major new building in downtown in 25 or 30 years on this scale."

Shaw said the development comes at the same time other businesses are moving ahead with plans to build three shopping malls in Rapid City along Interstate 90 and a fourth mall on Highway 16.

The value of each will exceed $100 million.

Shafai, 45, born and raised in the Gaza Strip, moved to Rapid City in 1981. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and taught civil engineering at the school. He said he is part of a group of investors that will put up most of the cost of the high- rise.

His company, Dream Design International, will be the design engineer.

The city would contribute $2.8 million from a half-penny sales tax.

Shafai said the building would be 400 feet long and reach the length of a city block. The site now is a parking lot.

It would include street-level retail shops, four levels of parking and two towers. One tower would have three levels of office space for businesses, each level 100 by 100 feet. The second tower would have 10 stories of condominiums, a total of 50 to 70 units to be sold to residents.

He had no estimate on the price of a unit.

[Wolfmanfromsufu]

I took the pic from up near the prison. Another good elevated area to take downtown pics is from in front of the cathedral where you can also walk onto the roof-top school playground. There are big plans on both ends of the state. It will be interesting to see both downtown in 10 years.

[Ex-Ithacan]

^^ Wow skate, big project for Rapid City. Hope it happens.

[Chicago Shawn]

Neat, my neighborhood transit station has the same exact statue of Thomas Jefferson.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/bcfranke/Canon1086.jpg
http://www.chicago-l.org/stations/images/Ohare/jeffersonpark07.jpg

Really beautiful pictures in this thread. Its a viewing pleasure.

[bcfranke]

Thanks for all the posts everyone and to skate for the journal article. That new tower is really exciting and I hope for downtown and the entire city's sake that it does actually happen. My fingers are crossed.

[Greco Roman]

I"ve only ever passed through Rapid City on my way back to Winnipeg (actually I spent the night there but it was nightime and you can't even really enjoy anything on one overnight stay anyway), but I would like to get back down there to enjoy your city. :cheers: It's seems like a really picturesque location by the Black Hill's area; it seems to me that RC is very underrated by most, and that is too bad.