Construction of Mount Rushmore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The construction of Mount Rushmore National Memorial took about 14 years, from 1927 to 1941.
Contents |
[edit] Designing the monument
Doane Robinson of the South Dakota Historical Society wanted a monument in South Dakota to be built in order to help the economy of the state by attracting tourism. In 1923, he proposed that this monument should be built from the granite cliffs in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Senator Peter Norbeck approved of the proposal, and federal funds helped the project. Robinson asked architect and sculptor Gutzon Borglum to sculpt and design the monument. Borglum decided to use Mount Rushmore for the sculpture, since it appeared the easiest of the cliffs to work on.[1]
Gutzon Borglum, having decided on the location of the sculpture, decided to make this monument to four President of the United States. He chose the two most famous Presidents in history, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. He chose Thomas Jefferson because Jefferson nearly doubled the size of the United States in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. The last President Broglum chose was Theodore Roosevelt, suggested by President Calvin Coolidge because of Theodore Roosevelt's introduction of the National Park Service.
Borglum worked on his design of the four Presidents in his studio in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He invented a machine that would scale the model at 1 inch on his model to 1 foot on Mount Rushmore. The original design had the full bodies of the Presidents standing upright, but due to high costs, only the heads were chosen.
[edit] Construction
A few hundred workers, who were usually miners, sculptors, or rock climbers, used dynamite, jackhammering, and chiseling to sculpt the model from the mountain. A stairway had to be constructed to the top of the mountain first, where cables would be suspended, in which the workers would be in a harness while working.
The eyes would be sculpted as holes, but a cube of granite would remain in the pupil to provide a reflection of light to make the appearance of the eyes more realistic.
Construction began on August 10, 1927.
[edit] George Washington
George Washington's head was started first. Due to the economic instabilty of the United States caused by the Great Depression, it was completed in seven years, and dedicated to the public on Independence Day 1934. A large American flag was placed over Washington's head before the reveal, and this became a tradition for each of the President's heads.
[edit] Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson's head was started next, on Washington's right. Before the head was complete, Borglum ordered that it be blasted off due to poor rock quality. Jefferson's head was started again to the left of Washington. Jefferson's head was dedicated in 1936.
[edit] Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln's head was more of a challenge because of his beard, but his head was completed on the far right of the cliff, dedicated on September 17, 1937, the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States in 1787.
[edit] Theodore Roosevelt
While Theodore Roosevelt's head was being constructed, acquaintances for tourists were being built, including plumbing, lighting, and a visitor center. On July 2, 1939, Roosevelt's head was dedicated.
Finishing touches to the monument were made over the next couple of years. After Gutzon Borglum's death in 1941, his son Lincoln directed the monument's construction.
[2]
[edit] Present day
Since the excess granite remains that were dropped to the ground from dynamite explosions and chiseling were nearly impossible to remove, they were left as part of the site. The monument has received much criticism from the Native Americans in the Black Hills area, but Doane Robinson's original vision of boosting the South Dakotan economy was a success, as the site receives millions of visitors.[citation needed]
