He Mount Rushmore hidden behind the huge stone heads, a camera carved into the stone of the mountain, called room of records. What is stored there?
The Mount Rushmore Presidential Monument is one of the most iconic in the United States. We have seen it in countless series and movies.
On the granite mountain located in Keystone, South Dakota (United States), the sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, with the help of some 400 workers, carved for 14 years, between 1927 and 1941, the 18 meter heads long of four presidents from United States.
Is about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincolnwhich represent the birth, growth, preservation, and development of the United States as a nation.
The Mount Rushmore Chamber of Records
According to the official website of the Mount Rushmore park, the sculptor Gutzon Borglum wanted to include next to the heads a great inscription the same size. The text would describe the nine most important events in the history of the United States between 1776 and 1906 (from Washington to Roosevelt).
This inscription was to occupy an area of about 30 by 30 meters. But the idea was abandoned for two reasons. First, the text could not be read from afar. In addition, Jefferson’s head was relocated from the original plan, so the place where the inscription was going to be was occupied by Lincoln’s head.
Discarded inscription, Borglum Design a building carved into the wall behind the heads. It would contain important documents from United States history, such as the declaration of independenceand the Constitution.
This room of records he began carving in 1939. You can see his entry in the opening photo of the news. But later the Congress decided that the works should focus on the heads. Soon the United States entered World War II, and the Chamber was left half finished.
Here you can see the original building project, and how it is today:
In 1988 it was decided to hide inside the Hall of Records a time capsule to be opened by future generations. Contains sixteen glazed porcelain panels.
On the panels is inscribed the story of how the sculpture came to be Mount Rushmorewho carved it, the reasons for selecting the four presidents depicted on the mountain, and a brief history of the United States.
There’s also an inscription written by the sculptor himself, Gutzon Borglum:
“let us place there, carved high, as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what manner of men they were. And let us pray that these records endure until the wind and rain wear them down.“.
If you ever visit the Mount Rushmoreyou can see the room of records hidden behind the heads. It is unfinished and its interior cannot be accessed, but now you know its history.