Shady trees invited attention to South Dakota's modest home, half hidden in the wooded section of Art Hill, directly opposite the Texas State building. It was a type of Spanish architecture resembling the old missions, of which the California State building was the truest copy, but there was enough of the modern apparent to give the structure a touch of "up-to dateness" and therein it was original. The interior of the building was covered with South Dakota cement in dark tint, with the porches windows and ornamentation painted so as to relieve the structure from looking too somber. The building covered an area of 74 by 85 feet and cost $8,000. In the center of the building was a large room, its ceiling extended to the roof line and formed a dome. On the walls the greatness of South Dakota was told in pictures made by the masterful blending of the fruits of the field. Masterpieces of art were fashioned with grains of corn and wheat, and epic poems were written with blades of grass. The decorative effects reached a climax at the completion of the dome where the horn of plenty seemed to have emptied its wealth. Four smaller rooms were on the first floor, one for the use of the Commission, one was a writing room and the others for the convenience of guests. The second floor contained living chambers for the custodian of the building and officials. The furnishings were of the mission style and in through keeping with the surroundings. Photographic views of South Dakota cities and farms were displayed in the additional space available.
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