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Mount Rushmore National Memorial -

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota is one of the most recognized landmarks in the United States. The colossal sculpture features the heads of four US presidents. But are you able to name them? 

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George Washington (1732–1799) -

George Washington, a statesman and Founding Father who served as the 1st president of the United States from 1789 to 1797, is one of those peering out from Mount Rushmore.  

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Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) -

The memorial also features fellow Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809, Thomas Jefferson. 

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Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) -

The third presidential head carved into the Mount Rushmore granite is that of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909.  

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Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) -

Abraham Lincoln, who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, completes the lineup at Mount Rushmore. But who suggested these four presidents, and why?  

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Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941) -

While South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson (1856–1946) conceived the idea of the memorial, ostensibly to lure tourists to the region, it was American sculptor Gutzon Borglum who selected the four presidents, chosen because he felt that they represented the most important events in the first 150 years of American history. 

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The "Six Grandfathers" -

Borglum also selected the site, sacred to the Lakota Sioux and known as "The Six Grandfathers." It's pictured here in 1905 long before the construction of the memorial.  

Image: National Park Service. 

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Concept and design -

The project received congressional approval on March 3, 1925, after which Gutzon Borglum immediately set to work designing the memorial. He is seen here in his studio at Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota working on the first model of the gigantic memorial. 

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Head to waist -

Borglum's original idea was to depict the four presidents from head to waist. His early scale models reflect this design. However, lack of funding eventually led to this concept being scrapped. 

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First president, first face -

Working from a completed scale model of the memorial (shown on the right), Borglum began to sculpt the head of Washington in plaster and clay. The actual dimensions of each head would eventually measure 18 m (60 ft) from chin to top.  

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Construction begins -

Construction on the memorial began on October 4, 1927. One of the first dynamite blasts of rock was photographed for posterity (pictured). 

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Smoothing the way -

Borglum is pictured standing on top of Mount Rushmore with a gang of his sculptors, finishing and smoothing the great granite cliff that would form part of the memorial. The sculptors are standing on the section that eventually became the forehead of George Washington.

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Initial carvings -

Teams of stonecutters are recorded beginning initial carvings at the site.  A network of ladders had to be constructed to facilitate access to the top of the mountain. 

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A familiar face -

The face of US president George Washington is clearly visible in this early visual document. The site where Lincoln would sit has already been blasted. 

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About-face -

This rare image shows construction underway, but with Jefferson to the left of Washington. Unstable rock necessitated a change in the design later on. 

Image: Unknown national park service employee. 

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The smile says it all -

Gutzon Borglum took a hands-on approach while supervising the carvings. He is seen suspended in a cage as stonemasons work on the mouth of Jefferson. Borglum, from a study of numerous paintings and drawings of Jefferson, had observed that the man was noted for his cynical smile, and wanted this character trait faithfully reproduced. The mouth is nearly 7.5 m (20 ft) wide. 

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Repositioned -

Stone carvers on scaffolding and hoists work on the near-complete face of the repositioned Thomas Jefferson. 

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Made in granite -

The heads of Washington, Jefferson, and the beginning of Lincoln, as seen from a cable basket. By the project's end, nearly 500,000 tons (500 million kg) of granite had been removed from the mountain top. 

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Powder monkey -

The construction workers responsible for blasting the rock face were known as 'powder monkeys.' Theirs was a skilled but hazardous job involving the delicate handling of explosives. Pictured is a 'powder monkey' holding dynamite and detonators. Amazingly, no one was killed during the memorial's construction. 

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Lincoln takes shape -

Borglum is pictured suspended on ropes below the eye of Lincoln as several of his crew work on carving the head of the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln's was the third head to be carved. While Borglum was in charge of the project overall, Luigi Del Bianco (1892–1969), an artisan and stonemason from New York, was the chief carver of the mountain.

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Heading for the top -

The completed heads of Washington and Jefferson, as seen from the top of Lincoln's head. 

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Mount Rushmore takes shape -

Theodore Roosevelt was the fourth and final president to have his likeness carved into the Mount Rushmore granite. He is seen with his face shrouded by scaffolding. 

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Seeing eye to eye -

Stone workers carve the eyes of President Theodore Roosevelt with compressed air hammers. 

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Looking through Roosevelt's eyes -

Gutzon Borglum chats with a group of sculptors while inspecting the nearly finished eye socket. 

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The project nears completion -

The sculptured faces of the former presidents as they appeared towards the end of the project. It was 1941, fourteen years after the first mountain rock had been dynamited. 

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Finishing touches -

This closer view records workers putting the finishing touches to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Washington's face had been dedicated on July 4, 1934—Independence Day. The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936, and the face of Abraham Lincoln in 1937. In 1939, the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated. 

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Presidential approval -

In September 1936, White House incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the site for the dedication of Thomas Jefferson's face. He is pictured with Gutzon Borglum and his sons Franklin Jr. (far left) and John (far right). 

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Completion -

On October 31, 1941, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial was declared complete. Sadly, its chief architect didn't live to celebrate the historic occasion. Gutzon Borglum died from an embolism in March 1941. His son, Lincoln Borglum, concluded construction. 

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Patriotic site -

Among the first group of admirers to visit the Mount Rushmore National Memorial was this patriotic group of United States servicemen. 

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Two million visitors annually -

Today, Mount Rushmore, sometimes referred to as the "Shrine of Democracy," is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the nation, regularly drawing more than two million visitors annually.

Sources (National Park Service) (Britannica) (National Geographic)

See also: Exploring the Dakotas, North and South. 

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