Address
13000 Highway 244
Building 31, Suite 1
Keystone, SD 57751
Directions: Google Maps
Support
Phone: 605-574-2523
Phone: 605-574-3171
Phone: 605-574-3165 (Visitor Center)
Email: nil
______
About Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Located in South Dakota, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculptural iconic landmark, dedicated to four of America’s influential presidents, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. The sculpted faces of the presidents, carved out of granite stone, attracts 2.5 million visitors every year to the Black hills national forest, near Rapid City. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum is the master genius behind this spectacular creation of 60 feet high, heads of the four famed American presidents.
The Memorial Park spread over 1,278.45 acres, is the initiative of historian Doane Robinson, with a visionary objective of attracting tourists from all over the country to the State of South Dakota. The construction work began around 1927, and took 15 years to near completion in 1941, at an estimated cost of $1 million. The sculpture celebrates the first 150 years of the United States, and each of the 4 leaders were chosen for their valuable contributions to the country, George Washington for foundation of American democracy, Thomas Jefferson for country expansion, Theodore Roosevelt for industrial development, and Abraham Lincoln for preservation of nation.
Construction workers employed the use of dynamite to break away 450,000 tons of granite to create an even surface for sculpting, and the carving process took about 6 years to complete, with 400 miners on-site. The mountain chosen for the sculptural carving, is popularly known as the six grandfathers, and the official name Rushmore, came from a lawyer based in New York, who was working on the gold claims of Black Hills area.
Around 90% of the carving was done using a dynamite, and the faces appear in order from left to right, Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. The sculpted faces endure the effects of nature, and erode at 1 inch per year, due to the winds, but estimates suggest that these sculptures will last for around 7 million years.
Activities to do, and explore at Mount Rushmore Memorial, are the Sculptors studio, Carvers café, the gift store, sunset point, and the Borglum visitor’s center. Visitors typically spend around 2 hours at the Memorial Park, and explore using the ranger’s guided program tour, or self-guided tours.
Open all year round, from 8am-9pm, the Memorial Park remains closed only on Dec 25th, and the best time to visit is during June-August, and is less crowded during September-October. Entrance is free for all, however parking charges apply, and cost $10 per vehicle, and $5 for senior citizens, and $25 for educational buses, and $50 for commercial coaches.
