overview
Mount Rushmore depicts the faces of four former U.S. Presidents from left to right:
George Washington, first president
Thomas Jefferson, third president
Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth president
Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president
The four, 60-foot granite faces of Mount Rushmore National Memorial draw more than three million visitors each year, and that's just for each head!
The first blast on the mountain occurred in 1927. Under the direction of sculptor Gutzon Borglum, 400 workers labored through hot summers and cold winters to create the sculpture, nearly 500 feet up the side of the mountain. More than 90 percent of the mountain was carved using dynamite. The fine details of the faces were achieved with a jackhammer. Operators hung from the top of the mountain in bosun chairs held by steel cables. Despite the dangerous work, during the 14 years of construction, not a single person died. The memorial was officially declared complete on October 31, 1941.
However, Gutzon Borglum’s vision was not totally completed – original plans included head-to-waist depictions of the presidents. When Borglum died suddenly in July 1941, his son, Lincoln, tried to continue his father’s work, but funding ran out as America entered World War II. Visitors wanting to see a model of Borglum’s original dream can view it at the Sculptor’s Studio located at the Memorial.
Another part of Borglum’s grand vision was for a Hall of Records to be carved into the canyon behind the faces. Borglum envisioned a majestic room that held important documents like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Borglum started blasting the hall, but never finished it.
On August 9, 1998, Borglum’s Hall of Records was somewhat completed when a repository was placed in the floor of the hall entry. Inside a titanium vault are sixteen porcelain enamel panels inscribed with the story of Mount Rushmore, the reasons for selecting the four presidents and a short history of the United States. The Hall of Records is not accessible to visitors, but is left as a record for people thousands of years from now.
fees/permits
Entrance to the Memorial is free; however, there is a fee to park. This fee isn't covered by the National Park Pass, Golden Age or Golden Access Passport cards because the parking facilities are privately owned. The structure was built to accommodate visitation, and because federal or donated funds weren't available, it was contracted out, and the non-profit organization became Presidential Parking Inc. Parking is $11 for private vehicles cars, motorcycles, and RVs.
other mountain carvings in the area
Work on the Crazy Horse Memorial (http://www.crazyhorse.org) admission $10 per adult or $25 per carload, "whichever is better for you" has been underway for more than sixty years - first by one man, Korczak Ziolkowski, an assistant to Borglum on Rushmore - and now by his several sons and daughters. It dwarfs Rushmore in size, and is intended to be the world's largest sculpture, but only the head, face, and basic outline of the outstretched arm have been completed. The project relies exclusively on private donations and admission to the visitors center, which features a theater and a massive collection of Indian art and history. Visitors cannot walk up to the mountain itself, but tour vans drive to a vantage point nearby. The Crazy Horse Memorial is on US Highway 16/385, just 17 miles southwest of Mount Rushmore. From SR 244, it's easier seen northbound coming from Custer than southbound.