New Perspective on Mount Rushmore From Up Close
Visit to Monument With Range of Views Leaves Indelible Impression
Jun 14, 2009
Mount Rushmore captures the popular imagination, perhaps more dramatically than any other national monument outside of those in Washington, D.C. Its image is enormously recognizable even for many who have never seen the structure in person.
It is not without its share of controversy. Judith Dobrzynski, writing in “A Monumental Achievement,” in the July 15, 2006 Wall Street Journal, noted: “For some people, Mount Rushmore elicits nagging questions: Should the mountain, set on sacred Indian land, have been so ‘defaced’ by man? Is the whole idea embarrassingly kitschy and jingoistic? Are the depicted presidents the right ones? Does their choice reflect a misleading and simplistic notion of American history?”
Others may more commonly remember it from the dramatic culmination of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic “North by Northwest” (although the film’s famous final scene was shot atop an MGM sound stage replica).
Perspective from Different Angles
A visit to the monument in the South Dakota Black Hills, 25 miles southwest of Rapid City, the nearest major town, elicits a considerably different perspective with an opportunity for more studied inspection. Beyond the main observation area on the Grand View Terrace, the National Park Service has designed a half-mile loop Presidential Trail that follows along the mountain’s base amid a ponderosa pine forest.
All the presumed familiarity may change with a closer look at how the variations in light and weather affect each face, the piercing expression of the eyes which seem to be looking back, the enormity of Teddy Roosevelt's mustache, Lincoln’s sunken cheeks and his mole, or witnessing the monument temporarily enshrouded in fog on some days.
“It makes a startling difference, seeing a sculpture in three dimensions after you've gotten to know it in two -- especially when that sculpture tops a 450-foot mountain,” as Christopher Reynolds wrote in the August 10, 2007 Los Angeles Times in “Faceoff: Mt. Rushmore vs. Crazy Horse Memorial.”
Washington Dominates the Structure
Washington remains the most prominent of the four which are in direct sunlight most of any clear day. Moving along the trail as the clouds and sun shift their positions during the day, the faces differ noticeably in how they are seen. At times one or more is obscured as they can appear to be surprisingly close by.
Along the Presidential Trail, it is also possible to climb within a natural rock crevice with additional views of Washington and Lincoln above the steep talus slope created by the 450,000 tons of granite blasted off the mountain or chipped off by hand. The rocks still lie where they fell.
At the Sculptor’s Studio, which is closed in the winter, visitors can see the plaster model one-twelfth of the mountaintop’s size that sculptor Gutzon Borglum created to transfer measurements to the mountain. One inch on the model equals one foot on the mountain carving.
The artist’s model was revised a total of nine times as the work required it or as conditions in the rock quality warranted changes. The drillers were lowered over the mountainside in metal and leather seats known as bosun’s chairs.
In “Mount Rushmore: Monument to America’s Democracy,” by Dorothy K. Hilburn and Steven L. Walker, the authors wrote that while the project took more than 14 years to complete, only six and a half years were actually spent dynamiting and drilling. “Many of the men faced serious danger every day by either working with dynamite, detonator caps or hanging from cables on the face of the mountain.”
The Mount Rushmore workers came mostly from the local area. Many were miners, lumber men, or ranchers, according to the Park Service. Their pay ranged from 30 cents per hour for the laborers to $1.50 for the assistant sculptors.
Monument Finally Dedicated in 1991
On the way out of the Rushmore viewing area, it is possible to read all 400 of the workers' names. The work began in October 1927. During his father’s absences, Borglum’s oldest one, Lincoln, supervised the construction on site. When Borglum died in March 1941, his son oversaw the work over the next seven months before declaring the project finished. The formal dedication of the full monument did not occur until 1991, 50 years after its completion.
Each year the Park Service sets aside time for maintenance on the mountain. Now park staff use a new silicon-based material which remains elastic and seals the cracks more effectively than old compound used during Borglum’s time. The silicon maintains a water-tight seal and stretches with the rocks’ natural expansion and contraction.
The enlargement of the memorial in recent years includes a new visitors’ center, a museum, and added parking decks for greater accessibility. A nightly lighting ceremony at the monument takes place at 9:p.m. in the summer. The structure can be viewed from the roadside 24 hours a day, while the main facilities are open from 5:a.m. to 11:p.m. in summer, and 6:a.m. to 10:p.m. in winter.
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