MORU Hall of records, according to NPS, “Artist Gutzon Borglum envisioned a Hall of Records behind the sculpture that was never completed. The Hall of Records and the mountain are inaccessible to the public.” Photo #19 by NPS / Amy Bracewell
Posted on 11/02/2014 8:06:38 PM PST by SunkenCiv
An imaging project is designed to help save the iconic Mount Rushmore from the effects of weather, physical erosion and more...
I always have been fascinated by the Mount Rushmore National Memorial (Keystone, S.D.); ever since noted New York Times Magazine photographer Sam Falk gave me an image he took of Gutzon Borglum’s sculpture. When Falk presented me with his photograph in the 1960s, little did anyone realize that the effects of erosion—although not yet readily apparent—already had taken hold.
Carving of the monument actually began in 1927 and finally was completed in 1941. Although jurisdiction over Mount Rushmore was ceded to the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service in 1933, nearly 50 years passed before general acknowledgment of the necessity for preservative action.
Weathering breaks down rock. While granite is fairly resistant, outcroppings constantly are subjected to the elements; causing gradual chemical and physical changes. Carbon dioxide and oxygen from runoff attrite substance. Physical erosion occurs when water, lodged in cracks, turns to ice and expands. Annual freeze/thaw cycles additionally force apart fractured edges. Tree roots produce a similar result which, ultimately, causes rock to disintegrate into clay and sand.
To safeguard the statues, experts would need to predict which of the granite blocks were most prone to shifting. In 1989, Respec Engineering, Inc. (Rapid City, S.D.) conducted a high-tech checkup that included photogrammetry and three-dimensional AutoCAD (AutoDesk, Inc., San Rafael, Calif.) modeling. Using precision cameras mounted aboard fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, the survey comprised some 300 photographs. From those images, a computer created 3D projections of the monument’s internal fracture system. It was part of a sprucing up for the Memorial’s impending 50th anniversary.
(Excerpt) Read more at advancedimagingpro.com ...
MORU Hall of records, according to NPS, “Artist Gutzon Borglum envisioned a Hall of Records behind the sculpture that was never completed. The Hall of Records and the mountain are inaccessible to the public.” Photo #19 by NPS / Amy Bracewell
Mount Rushmore, hanging in the sky, working on an eye. Not a single man or woman died during the 14 years of blasting and carving to create the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Photo #29 by Charles D’Emery / NPS
Maybe they should close all the roads around it and arrest people if they stop to take pictures.
I like the parodies showing the Presidents from the Canadian side of the mountain ....
Company Celebrates National Jerky Day with Meaty Mount Rushmore
That picture is freaking me out.
How do you remove yourself from that situation?
One of the History Channel's documentaries on the carving has a snippet of the last guy on the mountain finishing up work for the day, hanging down the side in a bosun's chair.
The dynamite had been placed, ready to be set off at the end of the work day (to allow the dust and debris to settle over night), however, a storm moved in and lightning set the blast off.
The guy had his boots blown off, but was back at work the next day.
The dynamite guys would get headaches from touching the nitroglycerin when cutting the sticks down to the needed charge size.
Eye don’t nose.
Just a guess that the photo is composed that way for a major newspaper sensation. Perhaps a platform or scaffolding is right below.
I would hope so. I have been in precarious spots but that is very dangerous. Good Grief
I grew up in SoDak and have visited Mt. Rushmore many times. Always amazed every time I was there.
Here is the appropriate statue of Hussein. It is made of sand, rather than granite.
And, it is already shovel-ready.
I watched the Cold War flic, North by Northwest, on TV this past Saturday. It is just as spooky now as it was in 1959 when I first saw it. Eva Marie Saint crawling across the face of the monument in high heels with Cary Grant in a suit and dress shoes is a sight that remeains gripping to this day, although implausible.
Simple. Add it about halfway down on the backside.
Engineers are diligently working on how to carve the “jug ears” and keep them from snapping off in the wind.
Actually, the problem is how to make the final product not look like Batboy.
Just one or both of them? I had to edit the set-up a little, so sue me...
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