A Keystone mountain whose composition is carved granite, that is Mount Rushmore. A sculptural group located in the state of South Dakota, which represents the face of four of the most representative presidents in the history of the United States, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Tehodore Roosevelt. We are going to know a little more about this emblematic mountain knowing the History of Mount Rushmore.
Who made Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is a national monument and represents the ideals of the nation through the faces of four of its presidents, these are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.
The idea of making this monument was proposed by the historian Doane Robinson in the year 1923. The idea started by creating a sculptural ensemble where the effigies of heroic characters will be represented of the history of the United States, specifically the Heroes of the Black Hills with the purpose of attract tourists and give greater visibility to the State, characters of the stature of Kit Carson or Buffalo Bill.
Project implementation the American sculptor Gutzon Borglum would be commissionedand it was he who would choose the Mount Rushmore by quality of your granite, mainly. This idea was well received, but discrepancies would appear when choosing where and who should be sculpted. ANDThe sculptor John Gutzon Borglumconsidered that the project itself was not adequate but the idea could go much further. This monument should not have a non-State relevance, as Robinson intended, but a national one.
Gutzon Borglumwas the sculptor in charge of the design and therefore author of the Mount Rushmore monumenta sculptor born in Idaho in 1867, trained in art in both Paris and San Francisco, specializing in sculptures on American themes. Borglum, he began his project in 1927 and worked on it until 1941, the date on which he would die on March 4 in Chicago, Illinois.
When was mount rushmore made
The project of the monument in the Mount Rushmore, started in 1927 with the presentation of initial model created in plaster and that today can be seen in the museum. This model was at a 1:12 scale. The project had been devised to carve head to head and the first would be George Washington.
The works started in 1927 by the sculptor Gutzon Burglum who together with 400 workers managed to carve the gigantic busts 18 m highwhere the first 150 years of the history of the United States are represented through the four most representative presidents of this period.
How tall is Mount Rushmore?
Mount Rushmore has a height of 1,745 meters. It is a granite mountain, a hard stone and resistant to erosion. The mount was perfect for the sunlight it would receive for much of the dayIn addition, the height was perfect, it was the highest mountain in the entire area and also there was no need to resort to quarries.
Each head is 18m high, distributed as follows:
- Nose: 6m long
- Mouth: 5.5m wide
- The eyes: 3.4 m from one end to the other.
For bring expressiveness to each face Master Borglum left a granite column, to act as a pupil, this column would be about 56 cm long, this measurement and the place of placement would be marked by the sun, since it was calculated so that the light from it would cause a shadow that would give the effect of a pupil and life in the eyes.
Where is Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is located in Keystonebelonging to Pennington Countyin the state of South Dakota. Its coordinates are 43°52′44″N 103°27′35″W. His official address is 13000 Highway 244, Building 31, Suite 1 – Keystone, SD 57751.
To visit Mount Rushmore, we must locate ourselves in the State of South Dakota, there we will take the highway 385 northup to link with the 244which takes us straight to the monument.
But if we meet into I-90, we must get to Rapid City first and then continue on 16 heading southwest. This road will take us to the mining town of Keystone. We have little left here we take the 244 which, as we have seen, will leave us at our destination.
Why those Presidents on Mount Rushmore
The presidents that are represented and that we have already mentioned above, were carved in the following order, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The project carried out by Gutzon Borglum, intended to capture the ideals of the nation through 4 presidents who represented the 150 years of history of the country, since its independence.
Each from them has a special representationhave been presidents who have marked an era or that they have experienced the most important moments in the history of the United States.
The effigy that more highlights of all is that of George Washingtonwhich represents the first president of the united statesis the creation of a new nation.
Thomas Jefferson, ranked third in the presidential line, is the author of the Declaration of Independencemore than enough reason to be represented on the mount.
Abraham Lincoln, he led the restoration of the Union of the country, he was ranked 16th in the list of presidents of the United States and to him is due the end of slavery.
Theodore Roosevelt, the most current president of all of them, it is the president number 26 and the one who was in charge of build the Panama Canalproviding a greater reduction in the costs of transporting the merchandise, carried out a major economic reform and propelled a foreign policy of approach.
Curiosities of Mount Rushmore
There are a series of curiosities that you may not know, many of them will surprise you and others may make you smile. Let’s see some of them.
Why is it called Mount Rushmore?
The story is perhaps a bit curious. It seems that a New York lawyer named Charles E. Rushmorehad to move for work reasons to South Dakota, traveling through the State, glimpsed a granite formation What caught your attention. When asked the name of the formationthe locals told him that had no name known.
Before this news, Attorney Rushmore replied that if he had no name, from that moment would be called Mount Rushmore. All this seems to happen long before the birth of the sculptor himself. It is certainly a curious way to enter history.
a secret chamber
In a first project, an inscription would also be made on the monument that would enclose nine events of the history of the United States, of great relevance. It would be a colossal size inscription so that it could be seen from a long distance. This project failed because technical problems.
Faced with this unforeseen event, it was decided to change the project and make an excavation in the rock, a room or dwelling in which they could save those 9 events important for the history of the United States, documents of great relevance such as the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. But war and lack of funds they paralyzed this other project.
In the end it was achieved carve a secret chamber, covered with a big granite slab weighing approximately 500 kg, which is strategically located behind the faces of the Presidents. In this room, in addition to the aforementioned documents, The United States Bill of Rightsthe History of these Presidents and Borglum’s Biography, the architect in charge of the project. This chamber is called Hall of Records.
Jefferson and Washington
These two effigies have been victims of different curiosities.
Washington’s faceis perhaps the most recognizable by all, this is because his nose is longer than the rest of the faces. Which possibly makes it more recognizable.
Another curiosity was the construction of the bust of president jefferson. this bust was carved twice, this was because in the original project, Jefferson would appear to the right of President Washington. Eighteen months after organizing the project and with the construction of the bust of Jefferson underway, the sculptor decided to change the order of the bustsplacing President Jefferson on the other side, on the left so he dynamited the first bust to rebuild it in the new location.
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