This candid photograph taken in 1932, shows workers doing construction on George Washington’s likeness at Mount Rushmore. The construction of Mount Rushmore National Memorial took about 14 years, from 1927 to 1941. Doane Robinson of the South Dakota Historical Society wanted a monument to be built in South Dakota in order to help the economy of the state by attracting tourism. In 1923, he proposed that this monument should be built from the granite cliffs in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Senator Peter Norbeck of South Dakota approved of the proposal, and federal funds helped the project. Robinson asked architect and sculptor Gutzon Borglum to sculpt and design the monument. Borglum decided to use Mount Rushmore for the sculpture, since it appeared the easiest of the cliffs to work on.

Borglum’s original design was a sculpture of the four presidents to their waists, but time and money only provided for their heads. Every year more than 2 million people travel to South Dakota to marvel at Mt. Rushmore. The Lincoln Borglum Museum is located by the memorial. One of the best locations for viewing Mt. Rushmore is located above the museum at Grandview Terrace. The Presidential Trail, a walking trail and boardwalk, starts at Grandview Terrace and travels through the forests to the Sculptor’s Studio, providing up-close views of the memorial. [Source]