1928 Tudor-Lakota Hotel Where Alfred Hitchcock and the Lady in White Both Checked In
523 6th St, Rapid City, SD 57701
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
$130–$280/night. Ghost Adventure Package available: includes haunted room, K2 meter, and dining credits.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic city hotel with elevator; accessible throughout
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1928 · National Register of Historic Places 1974 · Tudor-Lakota Architectural Fusion · Alfred Hitchcock Film Location (North by Northwest) · Rapid City Historic Commercial District
Construction on the Hotel Alex Johnson began August 19, 1927, one day before work started on nearby Mount Rushmore — a coincidence of dates that reflects the broader cultural project of the Black Hills in the late 1920s. Alex Carlton Johnson, Vice President of the Chicago & North Western Railroad and an admirer of both the Lakota Sioux and the Black Hills' landscape, financed the project as a tribute to both.
The eight-story brick structure opened July 1, 1928, less than a year after construction began. Its architectural approach was a deliberate blending: the exterior followed Tudor Revival conventions with decorative masonry and a flat roof, while the interior incorporated Lakota Sioux motifs — a teepee-shaped chandelier in the lobby, hand-drawn Native American imagery on the ceilings, wooden sculptures of Lakota chiefs. The result was unusual and deliberate, a building that insisted on its regional identity rather than aspiring to generic metropolitan glamour.
The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Alex Johnson himself died in 1938; the hotel passed through ownership by the Eppley Hotel Company (1947), Sheraton Hotels and Resorts (1956, when it briefly became the Sheraton-Johnson Hotel), and back to its original name in 1968. It now operates under Hilton's Curio Collection with Liv Hospitality management.
In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock filmed portions of North by Northwest in the Black Hills, with the hotel serving as George Kaplan's residence in the film's dialogue. Hitchcock, Cary Grant, and Eva Marie Saint stayed at the hotel during production.
Sources
The Lady in White has been attached to room 812 since the 1970s, when accounts circulated of a young bride who either jumped or was pushed from the window. Those who knew her reportedly questioned the suicide ruling. The apparition is described as a figure in a white gown, seen on the eighth floor. Guests staying in room 812 have reported the window found open despite being closed at bedtime, and dresser drawers found removed and placed upside-down.
Alex Johnson's presence is the other primary reported entity. Described as overseeing hotel operations from the afterlife — consistent with the biography of a man who built the hotel as a personal vision and died while still connected to it in 1938 — his apparition is reported by staff rather than guests, and primarily in service areas.
The child ghost is the third distinct presence: a young girl who knocks on eighth-floor guest room doors late at night, then vanishes down the hallway when the door is opened. Multiple guests have described the experience, and the accompanying giggling is the detail most consistently repeated across accounts.
Ghost Hunters investigated the Hotel Alex Johnson, and the hotel's own paranormal page documents the reported activity directly. The Ghost Adventure Package — a room in one of the reported active areas, a K2 meter, and dining credits — reflects a marketing posture that acknowledges the paranormal reputation actively rather than incidentally.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
143 rooms in a 1928 Tudor Revival hotel that blends Plains Indian motifs into its interior design — teepee-shaped chandeliers, hand-drawn ceiling motifs, wooden sculptures of Lakota chiefs. Request Room 812, where the Lady in White has been most frequently reported, or the Ghost Adventure Package for a K2 meter and paranormal-themed accommodations.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Genoa, WI
Big River Inn dates to either 1879 or 1896 (sources vary) in Genoa, Wisconsin. The building originally functioned as a restaurant before evolving into a combined inn and restaurant. It now operates as Water View Inn, maintaining its paranormal reputation while serving contemporary hospitality functions.
Las Vegas, NV
The Aladdin Hotel opened in Las Vegas in 1966 as a major resort and casino property. The hotel underwent renovations and continued operations until its closure in 2003. Planet Hollywood Entertainment acquired the property in 2005, completely renovating and reopening it in 2007 as Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The 7th floor Panorama Suite emerged as the property's most paranormally active location during Aladdin Hotel operations.
Marquette, MI
The Landmark Inn in Marquette, Michigan opened in 1930 as the Northland Hotel, built by the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company during the iron-mining boom. The hotel closed in 1982 after years of decline. Team Landmark restored and reopened the property in 1995 under its current name.