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The Construction Of Mount Rushmore National Memorial In South Dakota

By: James Farkenfur

Mouth Rushmore National Memorial is not only the most famous sculpture of South Dakota; it is also one of the most famous landmarks of the US. Mount Rushmore is the epic sculpture of the faces of four of the greatest early American presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. Started in 1927, the sculpture was finished in 1941.

The colossal heads of the presidents are carved on the Black Hills of South Dakota, and overlook a setting of spruce, birch, pine, and aspen. Each face measures 60 feet high and 500 feet up, making Mount Rushmore the largest mountain carving in the world. Originally, the sculpture was intended to include up to the waists of the presidents but lack of funding allowed only completion of faces.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota is not entirely art. It is, moreover, a feat of technology and engineering. In fact, without technology, engineering, and construction know-how, creating a monument or art of this magnitude would have been impossible. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, had to employ different blasting techniques and mechanical tools to accomplish his artistic vision.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota was sculpted one head at a time. The tools used in the sculpting of the mountain were drills, air powered tools, and dynamite. After mountain was scaled to projected size of the monument, the dimensions were marked on the mountain. It was obvious then to the team of carvers the problem of removing massive unwanted granite from the face of the mountain. At first, Borglum resisted the idea, but blasting the mountain with dynamite was the only way to do it. After marking oval shapes for each head, dynamite experts blasted the rocky surfaces to the estimated final measurements. The dynamites used in the carving of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial were prepared by John Johnson.

A stairway was then constructed to the top of the mountain. Winch houses were also constructed on top of Black Hills. Bosun's chairs secured by steel cables and workers in harness would then be lowered or raised from winches. After the unwanted granite was blasted, workers used chisels and pneumatic drills to carve away more unwanted rocks and to shape the features. Then, the granite was "honeycombed" using jackhammer to smoothen surfaces of the president's faces.

During construction, a shop located near Black Hills, South Dakota had blacksmiths sharpening as many as 300 drill bits a day for pneumatic drills. The pneumatic drills were used to make holes for dynamites. The dynamites were then blasted off to remove excess rock.

To haul equipment up the South Dakota mountain, trams were used. It wasn't until 1936, however, that the trams were improved to carry men as well to the top of the mountain. Before this, workers had to take 756 steps up the slopes each day in order to work on the sculpture.

The first head--that of George Washington--was finished in 1934. This was followed by the bust of Thomas Jefferson in 1936, Abraham Lincoln in 1937, and Theodore Roosevelt in 1939. The entire Mount Rushmore National Memorial near Keystone, South Dakota (including the grand hall started in 1938) took 14 years to finish. Today, it stands testament to feat of engineering, technology, hard work, and artistic vision.

Article Source: http://bytepowered.org/articles

James Farkenfur is an article writer for Sioux Falls South Dakota Water Damage Restoration and Sioux Falls South Dakota Flood Damage Cleanup

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