Statue #33: Harry S Truman

Rapid City, South Dakota

Truman's happiest moment as President (1945-1953), captured here by sculptor James Michael Maher, was his come-from-behind victory in the 1948 presidential election, which nearly everyone expected him to lose. Bronze Truman is grinning broadly, holding aloft a copy of the Chicago Daily Tribune with the banner headline, "Dewey Defeats Truman," which, of course, Dewey didn't.

In 2007 the Truman statue was knocked down by a drunk in a Taurus, and in 2018 by a red-light-running F-250 pickup truck. Both accidents prompted the headline, Ford Defeats Truman, but Truman returned each time.

Amazing Arcana of the Presidents

Truman was a power-walker before the term was invented, and became the first (and perhaps only) President to climb all 898 steps to the top of the Washington Monument.

[Discover more fascinating details in the Roadside Presidents iPhone app!]

City of Presidents

Since 2000, Rapid City has commissioned and installed bronze statues of every former U.S. President on its downtown street corners. Visitors are encouraged to take a walking tour of the City of Presidents and inspect the nation's metallic Commanders in Chief. Paper guides are available year-round at the city's main Visitor Center at 512 Main St.