Replica of Independence Hall to open in western SD

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Soon, reliving America’s birth will be as easy as taking a short drive down U.S. Highway 16.

Founding Fathers Black Hills, a new tourist attraction, is expected to open in mid-June and will highlight the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The site is a replica of Independence Hall in Philadelphia - where the document was first presented - and will feature a sculpture installation re-imagining John Trumbull’s famous “Declaration of Independence” painting.

Fittingly, this newest shrine to American democracy is nestled on the road to Mount Rushmore National Monument between Reptile Gardens and Bear Country USA. The 130-foot-high brick building with a working white clock tower looms over the highway at the bottom of a pine-covered slope.

Inside the hall, the 47 men seen in Trumbull’s painting were meticulously recreated into life-size figures using a multimedia approach.

Fiberglass, plastic, fabric, plumbing fittings, acrylic paint and wood were just some of the mediums used by artists Jim Maher, James Van Nuys, Julie Farrell, Leah Nixon and others to recreate the founding fathers from the painting.

The sculptures will be positioned to closely resemble Trumbull’s painting, which hangs in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.

In the painting, Trumbull depicts principal author Thomas Jefferson placing the first draft of the document before John Hancock and the Second Continental Congress on June 28, 1776.

Founding Fathers Black Hills will give viewers a chance to figuratively step in and walk around Trumbull’s painting with a 360-degree view of the installation from a raised platform. A small gift shop will also be assembled where guests enter into the hall at the base of the clock tower.

The project was led by Rapid City businessman Don Perdue, who was also the inspiration behind the City of Presidents sculpture project in downtown Rapid City.

Tickets to see the installation will be $10 for adults, $7.50 for children up to age 12 with ages 4 and under admitted free. The site is expected to be open with summer hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

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Information from: Rapid City Journal, https://www.rapidcityjournal.com