Wall Drug

The amazing story behind the West's capital of kitsch: Wall Drug, South Dakota

This roadside general store in the blip on the map called Wall (otherwise significant only as a gateway to the Badlands) has built an entire mythos around itself.

Since its humble beginnings in 1931 offering "Free ice water!" to entice in passing summer motorists, Wall Drug has gradually expanded into one of the largest gift shops you'll ever see, and advertises itself on billboards for hundreds and hundreds of miles before you ever get there.

(And those are just the official billboards. Fans have posted their own "xxx Miles to Wall Drug" signs all over the world—using the free stickers cleverly given out by the store—including one in Antarctica, 9,333 miles away.)

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