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Why Mt. Rushmore
is special
It’s a mind-blowing sight. The
heads of four renowned American presidents are hewn out of the upper cliff of a
granite mountain in the remote Black Hills of South Dakota. The faces are as high
as a six story building.
Mt.
Rushmore
tips &
insights
 The
four leaders are (left to right in the photo) George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
The
composite Mt. Rushmore entity is the largest completed carved artwork in area in the world.
If
you would erect a statue of Washington proportional to his carved head, he would
be about 140 meters (460 feet) tall.
Jefferson’s
likeness was started on the left of Washington’s. However, before it was
completed, the engineers discovered that the rock was too weak. So, the workers
destroyed the Jefferson visage and began it anew on the right side, where it is
today.
Nature
is eroding the stone art, but at a rate of just one inch deep per 10,000 years.
The
location was chosen in part because it faces southeast, which is ideal for
catching the sun light.
Belgium
sculpture Guston
Borglum was the artistic leader of the project. Sometimes his temperamental ego
hindered the undertaking, but he also provided the driving creative force that
made the difficult mission possible.
Originally,
Borglum wanted the statues to be from the waist up. Unpredictable funding forced
him to scale back his dream.
He
fired an assistant named Ziolkowski, who went on to begin chiseling a gigantic
monument of the Sioux warrior Crazy Horse out of a nearby mountain (it is still
in the works).
About
3 million tourists visit Mt. Rushmore annually. During busy summer days, over
20,000 visitors drop by.
Besides
observing the figures from a distance at the popular Grandview Terrace, you can
hike up the Presidents' Trail for a closer view.
There’s
also the interesting studio, which has exhibits depicting how the wonder was
constructed. On summer nights, there is a light show.
History in
brief
The task spanned 14 years.
1927 – Work begins
1934 – First bust finished.
1939 – Last one dedicated.
1941 – Borglum passes away.
1941 – Son finishes project
 
American cuisine
 
 
 
 
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