Information
Landmark: Redlin Art CenterCity: Watertown
Country: USA South Dakota
Continent: North America
Redlin Art Center, Watertown, USA South Dakota, North America
Overview
On Watertown’s eastern edge, the Redlin Art Center rises like a quiet tribute-Terry Redlin’s generous gift to the town that shaped him, as well as it’s a spot where you can wander a while, pause to reflect, and take in familiar landscapes and quiet glimpses of wildlife-all within easy reach.Terry Redlin, a Watertown native, imagined a destination where his original oil paintings could stay together-still glowing under soft light-for everyone to behold, simultaneously backed by his son Charles and the local community, the 52,000‑square‑foot center opened its doors in June 1997, sunlight spilling across the fresh tile floors.The building’s design catches your eye-a brick façade framed by 38‑foot Rockville White granite columns that rise like something from an Egyptian temple, likewise inside, the polished granite floors and walls make the vivid oil paintings pop-light glints off the stone, and nothing steals your eye away.Every painting reveals a piece of Redlin’s story-from his first pencil sketches at a worn kitchen table, through years in commercial design, to his devoted life capturing wildlife and Americana on canvas, likewise step into the gallery-the center’s heart-where more than 160 of Terry Redlin’s original oil paintings glow under soft light, every piece he created from 1985 on, along with a few treasured works from his earlier years.Visitors stroll past oak rails gleaming in the hallway, the cool gray granite rising around them and pulling every eye toward the paintings, also each room highlights a different feature-early pencil sketches, photo albums capturing the artist’s everyday moments, and even a cozy log cabin interior recreated straight from Redlin’s beloved painting *Comforts of Home*, occasionally As you wander through the gallery, tiny things catch your eye-a duck gliding past a golden sunset, ripples glinting on a frozen lake, and the soft glow of a cabin’s windows flickering through snow, to boot the mood feels nostalgic and calm, like drifting through soft light that hushes everything around you, maybe Beyond the artwork inside, the center sits within thirty acres of Conservation Park-Redlin’s own “living painting,” where tall prairie grass sways under a wide blue sky, simultaneously a quiet trail curves through tall prairie grass, past still ponds and tiny lookout spots where the wind smells faintly of earth.You’ll catch birdsong in the air, spot ducks sliding over the water’s glassy surface, and breathe in the clean scent of damp earth mixed with a cool lake breeze, as a result it’s a moment to leave the gallery behind and feel the wind and light of the landscapes that sparked the art.On a crisp autumn afternoon, golden light drifts low through the trees, like the glow caught in an vintage painting, also it really seems like someone meant for it to happen, the way that sharp pause hangs in the air.Admission’s free all year, so it’s an easy stop on any road trip-grab a quick photo by the front gate and keep rolling, meanwhile summer hours, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, are Monday through Friday, 9 to 5; Saturday, 10 to 5; and Sunday, noon to 5-perfect for catching that late-afternoon breeze by the door.After Labor Day, the hours change, and you might find the door locked on Sunday, after that you’ll find it at 1200 33rd Street SE in Watertown, South Dakota 57201, right where the tall maple shades the corner.Plan on spending about an hour or two inside-maybe longer if you wander the gardens and catch the scent of fresh roses, on top of that visitors often admit it’s far more captivating than they expected-a hidden gem where art catches the light and the scent of pine drifts through the air.Why go, furthermore step inside the Redlin Art Center and you’ll find more than a gallery wall-you’ll hike straight into a heartfelt tribute to rural America, shaped by one man’s eye and a town’s quiet gratitude.For visitors, it offers both-a cozy art gallery where you can linger over each painting and the quiet calm of a park just outside, therefore if you’re driving through Watertown or roaming South Dakota, make the stop-it’s worth it for a glimpse of modest-town warmth and quiet charm.
Author: Tourist Landmarks
Date: 2025-11-05
