Hotel Alex Johnson


The Hotel Alex Johnson is a historic hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota, having opened in 1928.
The Hotel Alex Johnson is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

History

The hotel was built by its namesake, Alex Carlton Johnson, Vice President of the Chicago & North Western Railroad. Construction began on August 19, 1927, just one day before work began on nearby Mount Rushmore and the hotel opened on July 1, 1928 and was officially dedicated on August 11, 1928. The building was designed by Chicago architects Oldefest & Williams.
It was sold to the Eppley Hotel Company, in 1947. That chain was bought by Sheraton Hotels and Resorts in 1956 and the hotel was renamed the Sheraton-Johnson Hotel. Sheraton sold the hotel in 1965, and it regained its original name.

In media

The Sheraton-Johnson Hotel is mentioned numerous times in dialogue in the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest as the hotel where the mysterious George Kaplan will be staying. Hitchcock, Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint stayed at the hotel while filming at nearby Mount Rushmore.