Every citizen of this country undoubtedly strives to see the National Memorial – Mount Rushmore with his own eyes, and thereby touch the history of the United States of America and the history of the formation of their democracy. But the world-famous mountain with the giant faces of four American presidents carved into it, each of whom gave America something special, also attracts many tourists from other countries. According to statistics, about three million people visit the Mount of Four US Presidents (or the Temple of Democracy) every year.

We also did not stand aside – we found where Mount Rushmore is located on the map of the United States, and visited the majestic memorial (often appearing in films, literary works and cartoons), which Americans are so proud of.

Who depicted

At the beginning of the story, of course, it makes sense to say that for the person they received the honorary right to immortalized in the solid granite massif of the highest rock in the Black Hills forest of South Dakota. It is clear that they must be truly outstanding. The way it is.

George Washington the first president elected in the United States (in honor of which he was also the first to depicted), with whose active participation the States became independent. During his two terms at the “helm” of the country, he laid the foundations of American democracy: introduced the institution of the presidency with the possibility of elected to this position for no more than two consecutive terms, participated in the drafting of the Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and creators of the Declaration of Independence. During his tenure, the United States bought Louisiana from France, thereby tripling its territory.

Theodore Roosevelt is the 26th president of the country, a 1906 Nobel laureate who did a lot for workers to improve their business opportunities and laid the foundation for the construction of the Panama Canal. Due to the heterogeneity of the rock and the threat of a collapse, it depicted in a depression.

Abraham Lincoln is the 16th president to abolish slavery, ending the Civil War and keeping the United States united. His face not fully depicted due to the death of the sculptor and the outbreak of the Second World War.

The history of the famous mountain

Of course, before visiting the memorial, it will not hurt at all to have an idea of ​​the history of events that unfolded around Mount Rushmore and directly on it, since there many sources devoted to this. But, of course, they will not replace the monument seen live, the Indian settlement recreated next to it, the numerous tools that used to work, and photographs.

Initially, Mount Rushmore, called the “Six Forefathers” by the Indians, located on their territory (the fact of official recognition of this  recorded in 1868). But soon after that gold was found there, and the Indian tribes began to be forced to relocate to the reservation. This resulted in the two-year Great Sioux War. Ultimately, the Indians were driven out of their lands.

The mountain received its modern name already in 1930. It was “given” by an American businessman and philanthropist Charles Rushmore, respected in South Dakota, who allocated a fabulous $ 5,000 for the construction of the monument and sponsored numerous expeditions to the area.

History of the creation of the memorial

The original idea of ​​the monument came to the head of local historian and ethnographer John Robinson in 1923. True, he planned to glorify the state and attract as many tourists as possible to it by perpetuating the history of the conquest of the Wild West (by making sculptures of an Indian leader and an American soldier or pioneers).

In 1924, 60-year-old sculptor Gutzon Borglum arrived from New York. Despite his age, he was full of activity and desire to take up work. True, the idea of ​​Indians and cowboys immediately struck him as small. His dream was to create and leave behind for centuries the great values ​​that make up the pride of American democracy.

And Borglum suggested depicting bas-reliefs of four of the most important US presidents in the mountain. He also found the necessary granite mountain, deciding that its southeastern slope would be the most suitable for sculptures.

It took only a year to agree on the nuances of the idea. Then (since the project was public-private), the search for investors began. At this time, the defenders of wildlife became more active, advocating the immutability of the rock. And only in 1927, when the authorities issued 250 thousand dollars, work began. Borglum planned to make four presidential busts (chest-high) and behind them – a huge hall in which the originals of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution would be kept.

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The construction of one of the most magnificent monuments in the United States took 14 years. The workers, whose number exceeded 400 people, had a very hard time, primarily due to the great height. For a simple climb to the peak of the mountain, it was necessary to climb 506 steps. Plus, I had to constantly work with explosives.

Dynamite used to break off large pieces of rock. Moreover, the jewelry of the explosions was such that the contours of the presidential faces, which were only 7-15 cm from the hearths, not damaged. After removing the excess rock (about 450 thousand tons of granite removed during the entire period of work), workers began to work with jackhammers, sandblasting guns and other tools that polished and cleaned the surface, and then gradually cut out the contours of the heads and faces.

Needless to say, the specialists carried out the most careful measurements and modeling on copies reduced in a ratio of 1 to 12. The total cost was close to $ 1 million. It is important that not a single life was lost on the site.

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The opening of the first person – Washington – took place in July 1934. The second president, Jefferson, introduced to the public in 1936, with the participation of incumbent President Franklin Roosevelt. The third – Lincoln – appeared to the world in stone in 1937 on the 150th anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution. Theodore Roosevelt inaugurated in 1939. In the same year, the sculptures illuminated at night.

Work with the depicted leaders of the country went on for two more years and stopped by the death of Gutzon Borglum (who did not have time to see the final result of his labors) and the Second World War. Since funding ceased, for some time the fine finishing of the monument continued under the leadership of Borglum’s son Lincoln, and on October 31, 1941, the completion of the object officially announced.

Visit to Mount Rushmore

So, Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a granite mountain covering an area of ​​5 square meters. km in the wooded highlands of Black Hills, South Dakota, with the 18-meter faces of four American presidents carved into its southeast slope, who have made the most significant contribution to the development of the country.

The memorial begins with an alley of columns, each of which symbolizes the American state (as evidenced by the presence of the flag of this state and the inscribed date of its accession). The names of the presidents are indicated on the plate.

It is worth considering that every day the memorial (open from 5 to 23 hours) is visited by about 10 thousand people, who arrived, for the most part, by car service, because public transport does not go there. In this regard, in a small area, there is a huge mass of people at the same time, the desire of each of whom is a photograph against the background of the presidents’ faces.

Therefore, the first time we drove up to him early in the morning after a half-hour drive from the nearest city – Rapid City. This turned out to be the most successful time for maximum exploration of the complex and comfortable (without a crowd) photographing. At this time, the few visitors were represented only by benevolent pensioners. There is a paid parking lot right next to the monument, but if you go a little higher, you can park your car for free.

We did not see any special entertainment in the area of ​​the memorial. I suggest you see Glacier Park .

Visitors offered an introductory half-hour excursion dedicated to the history of the Wild West and the construction of the memorial.

Along the presidential path is an Indian settlement similar to the original of its time. You can walk through it and listen to the historical narration about the history of the Black Hills and the life of local Indian tribes for free.

From May to September inclusive, the Museum of the Sculptor is open, which carefully stores information important for history about the construction of the memorial with material evidence (genuine tools and photographs).

You can walk along the path under the head, but the examination from below of the strong-willed presidential chins seemed to us not interesting. Whoever likes such excursions, having arrived in America, can see the monuments to the Confederates .

Every night (weather permitting), at 8 pm, there is a light show with a short history story and a screening of the corresponding film. You can watch it sitting in a special amphitheater next to the complex.

Special Pleasure

A special pleasure for us was visiting the memorial at night. The sculptures are illuminated at a certain time (usually from sunset until 23:00), with the exception of the summer period. Companies offer airport car service, both on a standard road and from above.

By the way, it is important that those places characterized by serpentines and absolute lack of illumination of the roads (as elsewhere in the USA, only occasionally there are road reflectors). There are no people at the complex at this time, with the exception of a few staff. Free admission, parking becomes free.

The sight that we saw (especially when we were upstairs) is very impressive: complete darkness all around, stars of unreal magnitude and brightness, and the faces of famous US leaders illuminated by searchlights. At this moment, the feeling created that the presidents are looking only at us.

Near the memorial there is a shop with souvenirs (symbols of the mountain and the USA), and there is also a cafe with huge portions of delicious ice cream.

A full inspection of the memorial and its surroundings takes about 2 hours.

The nearest city – a large and rather interesting Rapid City – reached or by plane. There it will be possible to book an excursion to the monument – by bus and even by helicopter.

There are many decent hotels both in Rapid City and in other nearby cities. In addition, there are numerous campgrounds ranging from 5 miles away.

Our general impressions

I was immediately surprised by the fact that from a standard point of view, the faces of the presidents are not as large as they seem from numerous images and videos. But if you come very close, the scale is already impressive.

The disadvantages include constant pandemonium, lack of competent distribution of visitors.

Of course, to truly admire the memorial, you need to be an American, live in the United States, or at least be a big fan of this country and its culture. We, like most foreign visitors, appreciated the technical capabilities used and the incredible persistence of the creators.

The United States, of course, can be proud of its power and strength during those great times. They wrote their own story and they have a right to be proud of it. But, looking into the future with us and remembering past eras and great achievements, do the frozen presidents think about the unfortunate Indians who lost the name of the mountain, their historical lands and loved ones in the war for their return.