Senator Brent Hoffman was kind enough to send me this antique photo/cabinet card taken of Pierre Street in Pierre, SD.
Dating it, it is definitely pre-1907 when the railroad bridge was built, as there’s an unobstructed view to the Pierre Courthouse before the top of it was removed, and a lot of remodeling has taken place.
I’m guessing the photo was taken just back from present day Sioux Dakota Avenue (H/T to SDHistoryNerd – the plat map matched a few of the buildings I was looking for). Many of the buildings on the left and right are gone; with the Federal Building replacing the buildings on the upper left, and Walgreens now on the upper right in the back.
Thank you Senator for the blast from the Capital City’s past!
I think the image is taken from just behind Dakota Avenue, looking down Pierre Street. Take a look at a street view on your map app of choice. Great post, Pat!
I actually did that, because I was questioning that myself, but I think it’s a block closer. It’s deceptive, because the Railroad Bridge isn’t there.
You have Banquet Grocery on the left, then moving towards the camera, across the street from that is now the Iron Horse Parking Lot. Then, the present day Railroad Bridge, then the Federal Building.
(I will figure it out conclusively, but I need to work. LOL)
Pat, I might have a couple different perspectives.
1) That could be a previous Court House. I’m guessing the current court house, without the tower……was built way after this picture.
2) The east-west street in the front of this picture is possibly Dakota Avenue. The store on the left would be (back in the 1960s) Tony Clothing and the store on the right would be Coast to Coast.
Thanks for sharing the pic
It’s a great picture, Pat. My guess is before 1904 or about that time when many pictures were being taken of the building of the Capitol. My Grandmother lived in Fort Pierre then, with the Jeffries family who were publishers of the Stock Grower News. She said there was great excitement about Capitol location and the building of the present Capitol which lasted for several years. My grandmother said they often took the “ferry” across the river to partake in all the special events. She attended the 1904 Inaugural Ball with Scotty Philip’s girls and Regina Rousseau (she married Billy Powell).
It is between Dakota Avenue and Missouri Avenue. Present day BankWest. Great photo and thanks for sharing
Another thing…it is not a normal streetscape in that if you blow it up, you”ll notice it is all men on the street and most of them are looking up the hill. No women or children are out,. The men are gathered together at that street corner waiting for something (??) to happen.
It looks to be another copy of this photograph, which is dated by the South Dakota State Archives as from 1892: https://sddigitalarchives.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/photos/id/77915/rec/6
Provided you will forgive me for the link.
Good catch. It is exactly that same photo.
The cross facing buildings are on the current Pleasant Dr. The dry goods store and the building on the left are on the north edge of Dakota Ave. You can see it all mapped out on the 1892 Sanborn Map of Pierre: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4184pm.g082561892/?sp=1&st=image
According to Harold Schuler’s book A Bridge Apart: Early Pierre and Fort Pierre, the presence of many different heigh front porches was the result of a long-running discussion over how much to change the grade to ensure the successful creation of a gravity-powered sewer system. The whole issue was not resolved until 1906, when an agreement was made to raise the grade at intersections by as much as 4.7 feet.
The courthouse was completely rebuilt at some point.
It is definitively just south of the intersection of Pierre and Dakota. The buildings still exist as during the sessions many still eat and drink in some, so I am told. grudznick has ruled, most conclusively.
Go to this fancy AI-like mapping place that my granddaughter’s boyfriend showed ol’ grudz. Looks like the same buildings today. Pierre and Dakota. https://www.google.com/maps/@44.365622,-100.3550744,3a,75y,44.25h,90.1t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sgafkSevdw6jQg0q2cI-WGw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-0.10338752063316292%26panoid%3DgafkSevdw6jQg0q2cI-WGw%26yaw%3D44.24585889021054!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e4?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Thank you for tolerating my in put. I’m fascinated by what is revealed in this picture and what is not. The men in the picture are all townies, no cowboys or western types, most wearing coats and ties and hats, bowlers and such. Are they Pierre businessmen gathered for an early morning meeting? Left background are four men playing musical instruments, 3 brass horns and a bass drum. a pony pulling a cart has panicked, the driver is reaching for the bridal. Two men on the corner right seem to be standing at attention. There is one teen age boy on the left carrying a bucket. He might be on his way to a “blind pig” to buy a “bucket of beer” for his father or he may be keeping his lunch in the bucket. I see no signs advertising a saloon on this street. That would be correct in 1892 as the State was under Prohibition until the next year. Is the little 4 man band playing the National Anthem?? The Francis Scott Key Anthem wasn’t adopted as official for another 20 years but was often played before important events. So was “America the Beautiful” and “John Browns Body”, the anthem of the Grand Army of the Republic. There was no official National Anthem in 1892. Apparently, it’s a public event of some importance and it is just about to begin.
The picture from the archives is much clearer and clears up some of my speculation. It is not a 4 man band…the “bass drum” is a front bicycle wheel, the brass instruments were smears on the original picture, the cart pulled by a horse is another smear but the horse is bolting. The archives picture is a better copy and may have been cleared up digitally. It does show approximately 80 men, dressed in 1892 version of business casual gathered on the street and boardwalk, apparently early in the morning, as there is no traffic on the street or people on other blocks. The population of Pierre at the time was about 3,000. It is a sizable crowd. Something is happening or about to happen of some general interest. The picture is not a typical streetscape but a picture of an event. So, what the heck is going on back in 1892??
My great grandfather built the first building on the right side of the picture. My mom’s side were Fischer-Aplan’s from Ft. Pierre and owned the dry goods store on the other side of the river. Since my dad and all of us kids were born in Pierre, we teased my mom about being from Ft. Pierre.
My mom and Henrietta Roberts (State Publishing Company) authored
a couple of pictorial histories of the Pierre-Ft. Pierre. I won’t tell my mom’s age, but she is doing pretty well and next time I am in Pierre I will ask if she knows the story behind this picture. She might.
Harold Schuler was a great guy and wrote a very interesting book if you like SD history.
Thanks for sharing, Pat. If you would like, I can see if my mom has a few more copies of her books up in the attic and send them your way if you don’t already have them.
Just to clarify, my paternal great grandfather, Henry Karcher, built the building in case I was unclear. This would be my dad’s (Bill) grandfather if anyone is keeping score or cares (likely not).