Ellsworth Air Force Base, PX Service Station, 860 Ellsworth Street, Blackhawk, Meade County, SD

Significance: The P.X. Service Station (Building No. 2801) is located on a main entrance road to the base. It served as the P.X. Service Station until replaced by newer facilities located closer to the military housing area. The facility, while owned by the Air Force, was apparently operated by a major oil company under contract. It represents Ellsworth's significant growth in both size and function during the Cold War era. Ellsworth, one of the Air Force's major bomber bases at that time, served as a repository of a large portion of the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal, and became home to a nuclear missile wing.
Survey number: HABS SD-21-V
Building/structure dates: 1952 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1954 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1956 Subsequent Work