How many of you have ever wondered how Mt.
Rushmore memorializes the birth, growth, preservation and development of the USA. Between 1927 and 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the 60-foot busts of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 150 years of American history. Visitors to the memorial come primarily to view the granite sculpture itself, but also of interest is the Sculptor's Studio built under the direction of the artist, Gutzon Borglum, in 1939. Unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting process are displayed there.
Recently, ten years of redevelopment word culminated with the completion of extensive new visitor facilities. These include a new Visitor Center and Museum and the Presidential Trail, a walking trail and boardwalk providing spectacular close-up views of the mountain sculpture.
The memorial serves as home to many animals and plants representative of the Black Hills of South Dakota. The geologic formations of the heart of the Black Hills region are also evident at Mount Rushmore, including large outcrops of granite and mica schist.
At this moment I will inform you about the history, creation, and the location and setup of Mt. Rushmore. .
It all started as an idea to draw sightseers. In 1923 state historian Doane Robinson suggested carving some giant statues in South Dakota's Black Hills. .
Creating Giants in the Black Hills.
First of all, He based the models on life masks, paintings, descriptions, and his own interpretation. Plaster copies were always displayed on the mountain as a guide for workman. But Borglum did not merely transpose the models directly into granite. .
How to transfer the models to the mountain? .
Borglum's answer was his "pointing machine". the models were sized at a simple ratio of 1:12- one inch on the foot of the model would equal one foot on the mountain.