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City Profile
With Old West charm, Deadwood draws people in
By LAUREN CAGGIANO | The Municipal
Deadwood, S.D., reimagined by the popular HBO series, is more than an Old West town. It’s also known for historic renovation, tourism and natural beauty. Kevin Kuchenbecker serves as the city’s historic preservation officer. He said by its nature the job comes with its share of interesting projects. “We became a national historic landmark on July 4, 1961,” he said. “Even before the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, we were considered a National Historic Landmark. And then 1966, with the passage of that act, all national landmarks were automatically put on the National Register. So, we have a National Register District and National Historic Landmark District, both with the same boundaries.” Preservation is at the forefront of the city’s planning today, but that wasn’t always the case. According to Kuchenbecker, it wasn’t until 1988 that officials started to intentionally build a robust preservation commission that reviewed exterior alterations. That 40 THE MUNICIPAL | MAY 2021
ABOVE: Deadwood, S.D., a city of about 12,000, welcomes approximately 2.5 million visitors annually. The tourism season typically starts in April and goes through the summer months. (Photo by Mary Lester)
work was in preparation for the legalization of gaming there, only behind Atlantic City and the state of Nevada. Now the city is realizing the fruits of those labors. “Per the state’s constitutional amendment, net funding from gaming goes to historic preservation,” he said. “So, we’re fortunate that we get gaming revenues to implement our preservation plan.” To understand the size and scope of the funding, Kuchenbecker said taxation and the gaming device fees generated over $16 million annually. “The state gets about $9 (million) of that and we get about $7 million,” he said. According to Kuchenbecker, the revenue mainly comes from tourists, some from around the region and others who hail from countries around the globe. The municipality of about 12,000
