2021 Design in the Hills – Deadwood, Thursday, July 15

Written by Jenn Johnson On the morning of Thursday, July 15, the 10th Anniversary of the AIA South Dakota Design in the Hills event was welcomed by Deadwood Mayor David Ruth Jr. at their recently completed Outlaw Square project. This year’s event had record attendance, celebrating the theme ‘Reconnection’ after a year apart. Kevin Kuchenbecker, …

Expanding Preservation of the 1950-1970s

Liz Almlie, Historic Preservation Specialist, South Dakota State Historical Society One of the newer challenges of historic preservation is the preservation of resources from the mid-20th century.  One of the eligibility considerations for the National Register of Historic Places is the age of the resource.  Sites newer than fifty years need to meet special considerations …

The Built Landscape of Suffrage History

Liz Almlie, Historic Preservation Specialist, SD State Historical Society South Dakota and the United States have recently marked big centennials of women’s suffrage.  A state constitutional amendment passed in November 1918 and the final ratification of the federal 19th Amendment took place in August 1920.  I was lucky enough to participate in several public history …

Brick Staining

(Content submitted by Stacy Watters, PE, South Dakota State Engineer) Isn’t it amazing that you can look at a brick building and narrow down the decade in which it was constructed based on the color of brick? I often find myself thinking, “well isn’t that a 1970’s gem!” or “that was definitely an early 2000 …

South Dakota’s Earliest Listings in the National Register of Historic Places

Liz Almlie, Historic Preservation Specialist, SD State Historical Society Federal historic preservation work has had a 100+ year evolution with key pieces of legislation being the Antiquities Act in 1906 that created National Monuments, and the Historic Sites Act of 1935 that formalized the Historic American Buildings Survey and created National Historic Landmarks.  The legislation …

No Detail Too Small: Historic Preservation at the University of South Dakota

(Sponsored content by Fiegen Construction) When it’s done well, historic preservation on college campuses is a perfect balance between where a university has been and where it’s going. Historic buildings are keepers of culture. They bring alumni back and future students coming in. That’s the challenge of historic preservation, then. Combining what’s classic and what’s …