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Caroline gets credit for snapping this one. |
RAPID CITY, S.D. – Gutzon Borglum seemed to be sort of a mad
genius with a flair for self-promotion.
In other words, he was like Bobby Valentine, but with a real
mustache.
And when both men were at the top of their game, the results
were magnificent.
Valentine, of course, brought the Mets to within a game of
the World Series in 1999 and to the Fall Classic for the Subway Series the
following year.
And Borgulm was the mastermind behind Mount Rushmore, the
highlight of our epic extended family road trip to South Dakota.
Everyone has seen photos of the iconic national sculpture. I
rank it with the Statue of Liberty and Daniel Chester French’s
incredible work in the Lincoln Memorial on the list of the greatest statues
ever.
Rushmore is very different than both of those works.
Frédéric
Auguste Bartholdi’s Liberty was hammered into copper, taken apart
and shipped to the United States.
French’s imposing Lincoln is 28 pieces
of marble.
Borgulm, of course, oversaw the
carving of Rushmore right into a mountain side over 14 years with little room
for error.
I wasn’t prepared for the first
glimpse. The faces are higher in the mountain than I expected.
Caroline spotted the mountain as we
drove through Keystone, about three miles away. And there’s another spot on the
road leading to the park where cars pull off for photos.
But the best views came from the main
entrance, where visitors are greeted by a plaza of flags that opens to a main
viewing area, where presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln
gaze down.
It’s the prime posing spot for
families and an occasional gnome.
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The rebuilt Gnome of Victory and Celebration at Rushmore. |
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All but one member of our traveling party, not counting the Gnome of Victory. |
Yes, the Gnome of Victory and
Celebration was recovered enough to make the trip, battle scars and all. I also encountered a fellow University of Missouri grad, who attended while Jule and I were there.
With the morning sun reflecting off
the white granite, it’s easy to see some of the fine details of the faces: The pupils in the presidents’ eyes, the hair
on Lincoln’s chin and T.R.’s glasses.
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Notice the details in the eyes and beard. Now picture trying to carve those details with a jackhammer dangling in what looked like a playground swing. |
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You can see the marks from the drills. |
There’s a trail that took us closer to
the base of the statue, with a spot for the best view of each president, a
section about Indians, and a spot at the bottom where you can see some of the
blasted rock, complete with marks from the drills.
The trail also takes visitors to the
sculptor’s studio, where the original model still sits. Borglum intended the
work to go beyond the heads, showing the presidents down to their waists.
Also on display is one of the
harnesses that the carvers dangled from as they worked with large jackhammers
on the faces. It looked like a playground swing.
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One of the harnesses used by the carvers. |
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OK, I'm going to dangle you over the edge with this winch. Safe? Of course! |
Among the things we learned: Borglum
was brilliant and, well, difficult. But his son, Lincoln, was the assistant sculptor and in
charge of the project when his father was away for long periods trying to
secure funding.
Lincoln Borglum was well-liked by the
crew, and was a huge baseball fan, too. The memorial sponsored a team, which
was featured in the café.
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Baseball and presidents? Can this place get any better? |
Also, Jefferson started on the other side of Washington. But
after 18 months of work, Borglum the elder decided that the rock there was of poor
quality and ordered the face blasted off, starting anew on Washington’s left.
Because we interview employees, we learned
that the park is a fun place to work, and that the Fourth of July is the
busiest day of the year. “No one gets off that day,” the cashier told me.
Another worker gave us two key pieces
of information.
One the way to Crazy Horse, our next
stop, there is a spot on the road with a perfect spot to view George Washington’s
profile.
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A friendly employee told us how to get this shot of Washington's profile. |
And, the evening lighting ceremony was
not to be missed.
So most of our group returned at dusk.
As darkness crept into the Black
Hills, a film about the memorial and the four presidents was projected in an amphitheater.
Slowly, the lights focused on the presidents came on and Washington,
Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln emerged.
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Veterans were gathered to the stage to lower the American flag as everyone sang the national anthem. |
Then all the veterans were asked to come down to the stage, as the flag was
lowered and the audience sang the national anthem.
I don’t think there were many dry eyes. It is an experience I’ll never
forget.