Campaign ManagerThe Father of Mount Rushmore
Back in the year 1923, historian Doane Robinson, aka “The Father of Mount Rushmore,” was struck with a brilliant idea to get tourists to visit South Dakota. So in the year 1924, he met up with sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Borglum had helped in creating The Confederate Memorial Carving on Stone Mountain in Georgia.
Robinson told him about his idea of doing a similar project Black Hills of South Dakota, and Borlgum was in. Originally, the monument’s location was set to be in the Needles near Custer, South Dakota. The granite pillars turned out to be too thin so it was a no-go.
The Reason
George Washington would be a representation of the birth of the nation, Jefferson would be a sign of the country’s growth, Roosevelt serves as a representation of the development, and Abraham Lincoln would be a sign of the preservation of the union. Even though there were other presidents, Borglum felt as though these four held the essence of the United States. This was the main reason why these four iconic presidents made their way on the monument.
Long But Efficient
There were several people working on the monument but the Italian immigrant Luigi Del Blanco was chosen to be Chief Carver for the monument. This man was known for his amazing ability to show emotions and personality in his carvings. To be able to do that in these stones is truly a masterful work of art that most people could not even dream of achieving. To carve these faces, he was going to have to use dynamites and follow a process popularly known as honeycombing.
