The 90th birthday of Mount Roosevelt, the nation's first memorial monument to President Theodore Roosevelt, will be celebrated at noon Thursday, July 2.

The event, hosted by the Black Hill National Forest and Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission, will feature professional re-enactors in the roles of Roosevelt and Seth Bullock, the Deadwood businessman and lawman who led building of the stone "Friendship Tower" by the Society of Black Hills Pioneers.

The preservation commission in 2005 funded $25,000 in masonry repairs to the structure.

To get to the Friendship Tower, travel north of Deadwood on Highway 85 and turn west on Forest Service Road 133. Travel about 2 miles before taking the north turn toward Mount Roosevelt. From the parking lot, visitors take a gravel walking path to the tower area, which looks over Bear Butte, Terry Peak and the ranchlands north toward Roosevelt's historic ranch in North Dakota.