Statue # 4: James Madison
Rapid City, South Dakota
America's littlest President, James Madison (1809-1817) is an easy one to miss among Rapid City's street corner Chief Executives, especially since the other three in his intersection -- Jefferson, Ford, and Clinton -- are all six-footers. Madison's statue is popular with visitors, who pose with it to show that they're taller than a famous U.S. President.
Historians have judged Madison to be America's most intellectual President -- he wrote most of the U.S. Constitution -- so sculptor Lee Leuning depicted him carrying a big reference book with his finger wedged into it as a placeholder.
Amazing Arcana of the Presidents
Madison always dressed completely in black, hoping to set an example of economy for his deadbeat relatives and spendthrift children. It didn't work.
[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.