Mount Rushmore Audio Guide

Mount Rushmore National Memorial: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Mount Rushmore

   Welcome to the heart of the Black Hills in Pennington County, South Dakota. You are standing before one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. As you gaze up at those enormous granite faces, you are looking at what sculptor Gutzon Borglum called his 'Shrine of Democracy'. This massive carving features the heads of four iconic United States presidents, each standing 60 feet tall, which is roughly the height of a six-story building. But before this mountain ever bore these faces, it was known to the Lakota Sioux people as Tunkasila Sakpe or the 'Six Grandfathers'. It was a place of prayer and deep spiritual significance for the Indigenous people of the Great Plains long before any chisel touched the rock. Today, this site attracts more than 2 million visitors every year who come to witness a blend of artistic ambition, incredible engineering, and the complex layers of history that define the American experience. Take a moment to breathe in the crisp mountain air and prepare yourself for the story of how a single mountain became a canvas for a nation's identity.

2. 02

   A Masterpiece of Dynamite and Grit

   Creating Mount Rushmore was a fourteen-year Herculean effort that began on October fourth, 1927, and concluded on October thirty-first, 1941. Believe it or not, about 90 percent of the rock removed from this mountain was actually 'carved' using precisely placed charges of dynamite. A crew of more than 400 workers, mostly local miners who were more familiar with digging for gold than creating art, used jackhammers and drills to honeycomb the stone. They would drill holes close together so that small chunks of granite could be wedged off by hand. Each day, these brave men were lowered down the 500 foot face of the mountain in bosun chairs suspended by steel cables only three-eighths of an inch thick. Remarkably, despite the high altitudes and the frequent use of explosives to remove 450,000 tons of rock, not a single person died during the entire construction process. To ensure the faces looked lifelike from the ground, Borglum used a 'pointing machine' system based on a one-to-twelve scale model, and he even carved deep holes for the eyes with a granite cube left inside to catch the light—that is why the presidents seem to have a realistic twinkle in their gaze.

3. 03

   Why These Four Faces?

   You might wonder why these specific four men represent the first 150 years of American history. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum chose them carefully to symbolize four essential themes: birth, growth, preservation, and development. George Washington, on the far left, represents the birth of the nation, while Thomas Jefferson nearby symbolizes its growth through the Louisiana Purchase. Abraham Lincoln, on the far right, was chosen for his role in preserving the Union during the Civil War, and Theodore Roosevelt represents the development of the United States as a global power in the twentieth century. The project did not always go according to plan; Jefferson's head was originally intended to be to the right of Washington, but after 18 months of carving, the rock was found to be too weak. They had to blast Jefferson's face off entirely and start over on the other side of Washington. If you look closely at Washington's chest, you will see the only part of the monument where Borglum began carving the torsos, as he originally envisioned full-body figures reaching down to their waists. Funding shortages and the onset of World War Two ultimately meant the project ended with just the faces that you see today.

4. 04

   The Secret Hall and Sacred Hills

   There is more to this mountain than what meets the eye from the viewing deck. Hidden directly behind the head of Abraham Lincoln is a secret room known as the Hall of Records. Borglum envisioned this as a grand vault that would preserve the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution for civilizations thousands of years in the future. Though it was never finished during his lifetime, a titanium vault was finally installed inside the hall in 1998. It contains 16 porcelain panels detailing the history of the monument and the country, though unfortunately, it is closed to the public for safety. As you explore, I highly recommend walking the Presidential Trail. It is a zero-point-six-mile paved loop that takes you right to the base of the mountain, offering a perspective of the presidents that you cannot get anywhere else. While you walk, consider the complex history of this land. The Black Hills remain sacred to the Lakota, and the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that the land was taken from them unfairly. Understanding this site means holding both its incredible engineering beauty and the deeply felt history of the people who originally called these 'Six Grandfathers' home.

5. 05

   The Monument Under the Stars

   As the daylight shifts across the granite features, the mountain takes on a different character. If you are here during the summer months, specifically from late May through the end of September, do not miss the Evening Lighting Ceremony held in the outdoor amphitheater. It begins in the early evening—usually at 9 p.m. through early August and 8 p.m. thereafter—and features a ranger-led program, a short film, and a moving tribute to military veterans before the faces are gradually illuminated against the night sky. There is something profoundly different about seeing Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln glowing in the darkness beneath the vast South Dakota stars. Whether you choose to linger here for the sunset or head towards the nearby Sculptor's Studio to see the original plaster models, keep your eyes open for the small details in the rock—those jagged edges in the 'talus slope' below are the very fragments that fell during the dynamite blasts decades ago. What other stories might be written in these hills? The discovery of the Black Hills is just beginning.