Interesting Facts about Mount Rushmore

“The size of the monument should be determined by the degree of significance of the event for the entire civilization. We are not trying to carve an epic out of stone, depict a scene of moonlight, or write a sonnet; we are not dealing with mysticism or tragedy, but rather with constructive and dramatic moments or turning points in our amazing story, ”said Gutzon Borglum, a sculptor who created Mount Rushmore.
Fact №1
Mount Rushmore (Mount Rushmore) is located near the town of Keystone (Keystone), in the mountain region of Black Hills (Black Hills), in the territory of the US state of South Dakota. In its rock, huge granite sculptures are carved, forming the National Presidential Memorial of the United States. This monument is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of US history, it depicts the 18-meter head of four presidents of America: George Washington, who was in power from 1789 to 1797, Thomas Jefferson (1801-1909), Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) years) and Abraham Lincoln (1861 – 1865). These people are considered the most eminent presidents of the United States. Below are some interesting facts about Mount Rushmore.
Fact number 2
In order to carve the 18-meter heads of the four presidents, Gutson Borglum took more than 14 years and about 400 workers. To get to the top of the monument, workers had to climb 506 steps. And although the work was carried out in difficult conditions, not a single human life was lost during construction.
Fact number 3
Gutson Borglum began this project in 1927, when he was already 60 years old. Despite the fact that the sculpture was created for such a long time, it cost only $ 1 million.
Fact number 4
Carved faces are located at an altitude of 1676 meters above sea level. If the torso was attached to the head at this scale, then the height of each figure would be about 142 meters. The height of each of the carved heads corresponds to the level of a 6-story building.
Fact number 5
If measured from crown to chin, the height of each sculpture is not inferior to the height of the Great Sphinx in Egypt. The width of each eye is about 3 m 30 cm, the mouth is about 5 m 50 cm, and the length of the nose of each president is about 6 meters.
Fact №6
To complete the construction of the monument was not easy. This required tremendous experience and skill. To clear the big rocks, you need dynamite. At first the workers carved out oval boulders, which served as the basis for the heads. Then the experts blew up the rock at a distance of several centimeters from the actual measurements. Further, in order to finally cut out the contours of the head, they used tools such as air hammers, sledgehammers, wedges and nails. During this process, about 360 thousand tons of rocks were removed.
Fact №7
Implementing the Mount Rushmore project, Borglum wanted to create something great in honor of these four presidents. But, in addition, he wanted to recall the high ideals that each of them brought to the United States of America. As he himself said, these people were chosen because “their names are associated with the foundation, growth, preservation and development of the United States of America.”
Thus, George Washington was chosen because he led the nation to democracy, Thomas Jefferson – because he created the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln – because he put an end to slavery in the US, and Theodore Roosevelt, who was chosen by Borglum himself, – that contributed to the construction of the Panama Canal, as well as the protection of the state and business.
Fact number 8
The entire territory of the National Mount Rushmore Memorial occupies more than 517 hectares and is managed by the US National Parks Service. Every year the memorial attracts about 2 million visitors.
Fact number 9
With the completion of the reconstruction costing $ 56 million in 1998, new structures were added: parking, an amphitheater, a museum complex, a visitor center, a gift shop, a bookstore, as well as restaurants and cafes.