Mount Rushmore National Memorial - Mount Rushmore Historic Photos (U.S. National Park Service)

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	Mount Rushmore National Memorial Mount Rushmore Historic Photos

Mount Rushmore Historic Photos

Gallery Description: Historic Photos

Black & White Full View photo of Mount Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore Full View

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

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View of George Washington

George Washington

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

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Photo of Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

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Photo of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

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Photo of T. Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

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The old Visitor Center at Mount Rushmore.

Old Visitor Center at Mount Rushmore

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Mmeorial.

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View of Washington and Lincoln.

View of Washington and Lincoln

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

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Mountain Goats on Lincoln's collar.

Mountain Goats on Lincoln's collar

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

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Sculpture maintenance being performed on the Lincoln figure.

Sculpture Maintenance

Photo by Courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

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Gutzon Borglum picked this mountain and location because the grain of the rock was suitable for carving and the mountain faced southeast which meant it would be in the sun for much of the day. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Mount Rushmore before carving

Photo by Rise Studio, Rapid City, SD

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Aerial view of Mount Rushmore National Memorial as it neared completion. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Aerial view of construction

Photo by Rise Studio, Rapid City, SD

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Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore, is shown here in a Bosun's chair inspecting the work on the memorial. Workers used the Bosun's chairs, suspended from above, while they drilled with jackhammers into the granite. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum

Photo by Rise Studio, Rapid City, SD

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Gutzon Borglum plants a U.S. Flag at the top of Mount Rushmore, October 1, 1925. He is accompanied by Jesse Giles (middle) and Ray Sanders (right). Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Borglum plants the flag.

Photo by Charles d'Emery

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President Calvin Coolidge spoke at the dedication of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, August 10, 1927. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

President Coolidge at the 1927 dedication.

Photo by Charles d'Emery

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A driller uses a jackhammer drill to 'honeycomb" the granite while carving Mount Rushmore. This was one of the final stages in removing the excess rock during the carving process. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Driller Honeycombing

Photo by Lincoln Borglum

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Winch houses were built on top of Mount Rushmore during the construction. Workers in Bosun's chairs attached to steel cables would be raised and lowered by the winches while they worked on the carving. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Winch House

Photo by Bell Studio, Rapid City, SD

[Download 457 kb]

A blacksmith sharpens drill steel in a shop located at Mount Rushmore. The drill bits were used to drill into the granite. A blacksmith would sharpen as many as 400 drill bits in one day. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Blacksmith sharpening drill steel

Photo by Bell Studio, Rapid City, SD

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Charges of dynamite being prepared by John Johnson. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Powderman John Johnson

Photo by Rise Studio, Rapid City, SD

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This is the plaster model created by Gutzon Borglum down in the old sculptors studio. Measurements were taken from this model and transferred to the mountain. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park service.

Model in the original on-site studio

Photo by Rise Studio, Rapid City, SD

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This is the final version of the plaster model used to carve Mount Rushmore located in the second studio at Mount Rushmore which was built in 1939 and finished in 1940. Photo courtesy of U.S. National Park Service.

Plaster Model of Mount Rushmore

Photo by Rise Studio, Rapid City, SD

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The face of Abraham Lincoln is under construction on Mount Rushmore in 1936. Photo courtesy of U.S. National Park Service.

Lincoln figure under construction.

Photo by Charles d'Emery

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President George Washington's face was the first to emerge on Mount Rushmore. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Washington figure under construction

Photo by Rise Studio, Rapid City, SD

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Scaffolding is set up around the Jefferson face for workers carving the memorial in 1936. Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service.

Washington and Jefferson under construction

Photo by Rise Studio, Rapid City, SD

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			Did You Know? Mountain Goats are not native to the Black Hills. The population can be traced back to six goats, a gift to Custer State Park by Canada in 1924, that escaped from their pens and found their home among the granite peaks of the Black Hills. There are now approximately 200 mountain goats in the area. more...

Last Updated: January 20, 2011 at 14:23 MST