“The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.”
— Gutzon Borglum
The mountain was carved from 1927-1941, if carved is the word for dynamite. The last 3-6 inches was removed by drilling sufficient holes to crumble the granite away.
Click any of the photos for larger versions of all.
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The heads are approximately 60 feet tall; the noses about 20 feet, Washington’s slightly larger.
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Around 400 men and women worked on the project. The time-clock was at the top of 700 stairs.
All photos taken August 31, 2009. I’ve already written about Custer State Park and Fort Laramie, although we visited them after Mount Rushmore. This is the last of the road trip reports.
They were very good reports Ken, and wonderful photos. I can’t wait until I can hop in my BMW (someday) for photography roadtrips.
Thank you so much for all the reports. I’ve enjoyed them. We visited many of these same places in 2007, and I may just have to copy your photos and claim them as my own!
Gorgeous pictures and love the reports. Makes me want to hit the open road. Actually the kids, husband and in-laws living with me make me want to hit the open road but your pictures now bring a few destinations to mind. 🙂
I was wondering if you visited Mount Rushmore, since you seemed to have visited a lot of places in that area of the country. Nice photos.
Guess it’s time for you to hit the road again, then. The pictures are fabulous, as usual. Bet you could take some great photos of, say, Churchill Downs. Or a bourbon distillery. Or Mammoth Caves.