Posted in North Dakota February 14, 2018 by

3 Rare Photos Taken During The Dakota Thunder Construction That Will Simply Astound You

One of North Dakota’s iconic roadside attractions is Dakota Thunder, a towering buffalo sculpture that was named the world’s largest. You have probably seen it, even if just in photos. But what you probably haven’t seen is what it looked like in the time of its construction. Luckily, there are a handful of rare images that show what building the huge monument looked like from inside out. Take a look:

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North Dakota's popular monument, the World's Largest Buffalo named Dakota Thunder, didn't look like this to begin with when it was built in 1959.
Sid Sower/Flickr
The World's Largest Buffalo is located in Jamestown, North Dakota and is one of the state's most popular attractions. It is part of the National Buffalo Museum, located right next to it, and overlooks both the city and a herd of live bison grazing in a pasture below.
This photo shows the building in its first stage - a steel beam skeleton.
Bradley Fortner/Flickr
The sculpture was commissioned from artist and local college professor Elmer Petersen. It was estimated to have cost $4,600 to construct. Today, that would be almost $40,000.
After the steel frame was constructed, wire mesh was shaped and formed around it as workers toiled away on scaffolding.
Bradley Fortner/Flickr
The wire mesh allowed for the overall shape of the statue to be formed.
After the mesh was added, the entire structure was filled in with cement and stucco, then painted.
Bradley Fortner/Flickr
In this photo, you see it in its very last stages of construction. Notably, you can also see the artist's original sculpture and concept for the big guy right next to it. That sculpture is what was used to build Dakota Thunder at a much bigger scale.
After its construction in 1959 and delighting thousands of visitors over the years, Dakota Thunder also received a bit of restoring and renovating in 2007.
Jasperdo/Flickr
Dakota Thunder was given a fresh coat of paint and also bigger, more realistic horns that would be similar to a real bison. Today, he still stands tall over Jamestown.

You can visit the World’s Largest Buffalo yourself at 500 17th St SE, Jamestown, ND 58401, at the National Buffalo Museum. Click here for more information about the museum

North Dakota has luckily been well documented with photography over the years to show just how much things have changed compared to a century ago.