1920 Christensen Drive · Spearfish, South Dakota
Termesphere Gallery
Open daily, 9 AM to 5 PM · Free admission
“One of the nation’s more unusual art spaces can be found off a well maintained gravel road outside Spearfish, in a geodesic dome festooned with fantastical globes.”
The New York Times
“Standing in the Termesphere Gallery, celestial artwork slowly circulating above my head, I find standard vocabulary woefully inadequate and flat.”
Helene Sorcic, Splash Magazine
The property on Christensen Drive, Spearfish, South Dakota. Four domes, built one at a time over fifty years.
The First Dome
After meeting Buckminster Fuller at Black Hills State University, Dick built his first geodesic dome on family land outside Spearfish. He intended it as a place to store work. Instead, he moved in. Markie moved in too, and they have been here since.
The $100 Dome
A neighbor named Tom Monahan had built a dome in Sturgis but never finished it. Dick bought it for $100, disassembled it piece by piece, hauled it over, and rebuilt it next to the first. He built a small path connecting the two.
The Studio
A commission for a seven-and-a-half foot sphere gave Dick and Markie enough money to build a proper studio dome. Dick still works in the upper half today. The lower half was Markie's puppet studio for years, and is now the Turtle House, one of two Airbnb stays on the property.
The Gallery
The gallery dome was built in 1992. Lang and Kabe, Dick's two sons, pressed their handprints into the wet cement that year. The dome holds the world's only permanent collection of Termespheres, all hanging from motors, all slowly turning.
Hours
Daily, 9 AM to 5 PM
June through September
October through May: call ahead
Admission
Free
Address
1920 Christensen Drive
Spearfish, South Dakota
Contact
"This was an amazing rare find! My husband and I and two twenty-year olds were looking for something to do for a couple hours while in Spearfish. The weather was impacting our plans so we were seeking indoor things to explore. So glad we found this place."
"What a great place! We had no idea what to expect going in, but Lynn welcomed us and did an outstanding job introducing us to the artist's works. She seemed really passionate, knowledgeable, and friendly. My kids really enjoyed it too."
"This is the neatest place! Truly a Black Hills hidden gem that is easily missed. I could spend hours here! There is so much to see, and no matter how long I look, I always find something I didn't see before. This place quickly made it to my must-see list."
Stay at the Gallery
Two geodesic dome stays, right on the property.
The Turtle House
A fully renovated geodesic dome at the base of Dick’s studio. The lower level has been transformed into a comfortable stay with its own entrance, kitchen, and living space, all surrounded by the Black Hills. This is where the work happens above you and the pines are right outside the door.
Book on Airbnb
The iCasa
A small geodesic dome on the hill above the property, set among the ponderosa pines with views across the Black Hills. A loft bed, a deck, and the kind of quiet that doesn’t exist in most places. More glamping than lodging, and that’s exactly the point.
Book on Airbnb