Mount Rushmore during sunset, a shot of the
great monument with fading sunlight behind the Black Hills. The 60-foot
(18 m) sculpted heads are of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Photo #1 by Chaitanya Polumetla
Air Force One flying over Mount Rushmore. The entire memorial is spread out over 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km2). Photo #2 by U.S. Air Force
Every year, about 3 million visitors come
through this entrance to view the presidents which were sculpted by
Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum. Wikipedia states,
“Construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents’ faces
were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum’s death in
March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction. Although the
initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to
waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.” Photo #3 by Scott Catron
Roosevelt and Lincoln – Mt Rushmore. Photo #4 by Stewart Baird
It took 400 workers 14 years to carve out our Founding Fathers. Photo #5 by Zach Dischner
Mt. Rushmore at Night. The NPS
evening lighting schedule varies throughout the year, but during the
main season, NPS said from mid-May to mid-August, the sculptures are lit
up at 9:00 p.m. nightly. The evening lighting starts at 8:00 p.m. from
mid-August through September. Photo #6 by Dhaval Shreyas
1932 picture of construction at Mount
Rushmore of George Washington’s likeness. Amazingly, even with 400
workers and hanging by harnesses, there were no fatalities during
construction. Photo #7 by Rise Studio, Rapid City, S. Dak
Two F/A-18E Super Hornets conduct a fly by of Mount Rushmore during a recent training exercise. U.S. Navy Photo #8 by Lt. Anthony Dobson
Mount Rushmore National Memorial. NPS wrote,
“The figure of Thomas Jefferson was originally started on Washington’s
right side. After 18 months of carving the figure of Jefferson had to
be blasted off the mountain and restarted on Washington’s left side.” Photo #9 by Jim Bowen from Hope Mills NC, US
Mount Rushmore HDR. This project to carve the
Presidents into Rushmore was first started to increase tourism in the
Black Hills region of South Dakota and is now the top tourist location
in the state. Photo #10 by Mike Tigas from Spokane, WA, United States
Fireworks detonate above the National Memorial in South Dakota. USAF Photo #11 by Senior Airman Marc I. Lane
Screenshot from trailer for North by Northwest:
It is a 1959 MGM thriller by Alfred Hitchcock. The film stars Cary
Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G. Carroll, and Martin Landau.
“Scriptwriter Ernest Lehman recalled
that in the course of screenwriting, Hitchcock murmured wistfully, ‘I
always wanted to do a chase across the faces of Mount Rushmore.’ The
scene was not actually filmed at the monument, since permission to shoot
an attempted killing on the face of a national monument was refused by
the National Park Service.” Mt. Rushmore has been used in other movies
such as National Treasure: Book of Secrets in which “the monument was constructed to hide the City of Gold.” Photo #12 by Petrusbarbygere
George Washington Profile closeup. Presidents
Day is celebrated in honor of Washington’s birthday. When George
Washington was leading the troops so America could be free of Britain’s
control, he said,
“The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether
Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any
property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to
be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of
wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of
unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct
of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice
of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore,
to resolve to conquer or die.” Photo #13 by Ed Menard Ranger / NPS
Mt Rushmore seen from one of the tunnels on highway 16A. Photo #14 by Kimon Berlin
Mount Rushmore in the fog. This mountain was
“originally known to the Lakota Sioux as Six Grandfathers, the mountain
was renamed after Charles E. Rushmore, a prominent New York lawyer,
during an expedition in 1885.” But “as Six Grandfathers, the mountain
was part of the route that Lakota leader Black Elk took in a spiritual
journey that culminated at Harney Peak.” So “Mount Rushmore is controversial
among Native Americans because the United States seized the area from
the Lakota tribe after the Great Sioux War of 1876. The Treaty of Fort
Laramie from 1868 had previously granted the Black Hills to the Lakota
in perpetuity. Members of the American Indian Movement led an occupation
of the monument in 1971, naming it ‘Mount Crazy Horse’.” However, “the
Crazy Horse Memorial is being constructed elsewhere in the Black Hills
to commemorate the famous Native American leader and as a response to
Mount Rushmore.” Photo #15 by Ed Menard Ranger / NPS
Mount Rushmore in the snow. In the off-season, there is still an evening lighting ceremony: “Sculpture illuminated nightly for one hour, approximately 30 minutes after sunset.” Photo #16 by Ed Menard Ranger / NPS
Mount Rushmore National Park ranger with Washington and Jefferson. Photo #17 by NPS
View of Abraham Lincoln from on top of Mt. Rushmore. On November 19, 1863, during the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln said,
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal.” Photo #18 by Rachel.miller727
MORU Hall of records, according to NPS,
“Artist Gutzon Borglum envisioned a Hall of Records behind the
sculpture that was never completed. The Hall of Records and the mountain
are inaccessible to the public.” Photo #19 by NPS / Amy Bracewell
Interior Hall of Records. NPS Did You Know states,
“A man-made opening called the Hall of Records was created in the
mountain behind the heads on Mount Rushmore. Gutzon Borglum and his
carvers worked on the Hall of Records from July, 1938, until July, 1939,
but it was never finished.” Photo #20 by NPS / Amy Bracewell
MORU Hall of Records “repository
was intended to tell the story of Mount Rushmore and of the United
States . After the United States Congress threatened to cut off all
funding for the project unless used specifically to finish the sculpture
itself, Borglum reluctantly stopped work on the hall in 1939.” Photo #21 by NPS / Amy Bracewell
Roosevelt closeup from above. “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are,” said Roosevelt. He also said, “I have always been fond of the West African proverb ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far’.” Photo #22 by NPS Digital Image Archives
Winch and equipment in Lincoln Borglum Museum. NPS explains
the carving history: “Mount Rushmore is a project of colossal
proportion, colossal ambition and colossal achievement. It involved the
efforts of nearly 400 men and women. The duties involved varied greatly
from the call boy to drillers to the blacksmith to the housekeepers.
Some of the workers at Mount Rushmore were interviewed, and were asked,
‘What is it you do here?’ One of the workers responded and said, ‘I run a
jackhammer.’ Another worker responded to the same question, ‘I earn
$8.00 a day.’ However, a third worker said, ‘I am helping to create a
memorial.’ The third worker had an idea of what they were trying to
accomplish.” Photo #23 by Ed Menard / NPS
Charles D’Emery documented the carving of Mount Rushmore for 14 years. Photo #24 by Charles D’Emery / NPS
Mt Rushmore detail of Abraham Lincoln’s face.
CyArk states, “Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United
States, held the nation together during its greatest trial, the Civil
War. Lincoln believed his most sacred duty was the preservation of the
union. It was his firm conviction that slavery must be abolished
(1809-1865).” Photo #25 by CyArk / Kacyra Family Foundation / NPS
Mt. Rushmore, up-close view of Thomas
Jefferson. CyArk site states, “Thomas Jefferson, third president of the
United States, was the author of the Declaration of Independence, a
document which inspires democracies around the world. He also purchased
the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 which doubled the size of
our country, adding all or part of fifteen present-day states
(1743-1826).” A Jefferson quote: “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” Photo #26 by CyArk / Kacyra Family Foundation / NPS
Mt Rushmore detail on Theodore Roosevelt’s
face. CyArk wrote, “Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United
States, provided leadership when America experienced rapid economic
growth as it entered the 20th Century. He was instrumental in
negotiating the construction of the Panama Canal, linking the east and
the west. He was known as the ‘trust buster’ for his work to end large
corporate monopolies and ensure the rights of the common working man
(1858-1919).” Photo #27 by CyArk / Kacyra Family Foundation / NPS
Mount Rushmore National Memorial working on Jefferson, photo by Charles D’Emery. More from NPS about the carving history:
“The workers had to endure conditions that varied from blazing hot to
bitter cold and windy. Each day they climbed 700 stairs to the top of
the mountain to punch-in on the time clock. Then 3/8 inch thick steel
cables lowered them over the front of the 500 foot face of the mountain
in a ‘bosun chair’. Some of the workers admitted being uneasy with
heights, but during the Depression, any job was a good job.” Photo #28 by Charles D’Emery / NPS
Mount Rushmore, hanging in the sky, working
on an eye. Not a single man or woman died during the 14 years of
blasting and carving to create the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Photo #29 by Charles D’Emery / NPS
NPS said, “Over 90% of Mount Rushmore was
carved using dynamite. Dynamite blasts removed approximately 450,000
tons of rock from the mountain.” This historic D’Emery photo is of early
construction work on the Lincoln sculpture, showing dust from the
dynamite blasts. NPS also wrote,
“Dynamite was used until only three to six inches of rock was left to
remove to get to the final carving surface. At this point, the drillers
and assistant carvers would drill holes into the granite very close
together. This was called honeycombing. The closely drilled holes would
weaken the granite so it could be removed often by hand.” Photo #30 by Charles D’Emery / NPS
Mount Rushmore construction workers hanging by cables. Photo #31 by Charles D’Emery / NPS
Mount Rushmore and brave workers. Photo #32 by Charles D’Emery / NPS
Construction of Mount Rushmore National Monument (MORU). Photo #33 by Charles D’Emery / NPS
Colossal granite heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are not eroding “since the estimated erosion rate is 1 inch every 10,000 years.” Photo #34 by National Park Service Digital Image Archives
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