Statue # 2: John Adams
Rapid City, South Dakota
John Adams (1797-1801) had the misfortune of being wedged between two Mount Rushmore Presidents: George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. His Rapid City statue -- with its moon-like face, big buckled shoes, curly periwig, and elaborate cutaway coat -- gives Adams a not-entirely-bad look, like something half-human you'd see in a J.K. Rowling fantasy movie. Adams stands across the street from George Bush, the only other President whose son also became President, but the placement was accidental, not deliberate. Adams greets visitors to Main Street Square, a recently created public green, from his spot near a huge cylindrical stone carving.
Amazing Arcana of the Presidents
Of America's first five Presidents, Adams was the only one who refused to own slaves.
[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.