Wall drug
Wall Drug Store, often called simply "Wall Drug,"
is a tourist attraction located in the city of Wall, South Dakota. It is a
shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop, restaurants and various
other stores. Unlike a traditional shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug
operate under a single entity instead of being individually run stores. The New
York Times has described Wall Drug as "a sprawling tourist attraction of
international renown [that] takes in more than $10 million a year and draws some
two million annual visitors to a remote town.
History
The small town drugstore made its first step towards fame
when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931. Hustead was a Nebraska native and
pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a Catholic church in which to
establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in
what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere," and strove to make a
living. Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, got the idea to
advertise free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly opened Mount
Rushmore monument 60 miles (97 km) to the west. From that time on business was
brisk. Wall Drug grew into a cowboy-themed shopping mall/department store.