But Wall is perhaps best known as the home of the famous, block-long Wall Drug Store . In 1936 the owners of this small-town pharmacy, Ted and Dorothy Hustead, came up with an ingenious marketing campaign. Realizing travelers going through the hot, dusty prairie would be thirsty, they put up signs along the highway offering free ice water. Tourists have been stopping here ever since.
Having had success with small roadside signs, the Husteads began investing in billboards. Wall Drug roadside advertisements appeared across the country. Although the 1965 Highway Beautification Act forced the removal of most of these famous billboards, there are still Wall Drug signs along highways in South Dakota and in many countries overseas.
South of Wall is Buffalo Gap National Grassland, some 591,000 acres of prairie and eroding badlands. The National Grasslands Visitor Center, 708 Main St., describes the grasses and wildlife found in the grassland as well as its history and uses; phone (605) 279-2125.
Badlands National Park is accessible from I-90 exit 110 at Wall. SR 240 and the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway offer spectacular vistas along this 39-mile drive.