Is there room for a fifth face on Mount Rushmore?
The National Park Service says no, there is no secure surface on the mountain. While a large expanse to the right of George Washington seems a likely spot for at least one more president, NPS officials point out that sculptor Gutzon Borglum intended to place Thomas Jefferson there.
But it turned out the area was not stable, so Jefferson was relocated and crunched between Washington and Theodore Roosevelt. The rock next to Washington is simply not available.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial Chief of Interpretation and Education Maureen McGee-Ballinger said it is a frequent question.
“From time to time individuals, groups or organizations make proposals to add the busts of other individuals to Mount Rushmore National Memorial,” McGee-Ballinger said. “Additions are not possible for two reasons.
“First, the rock that surrounds the sculpted faces is not suitable for additional carving. When Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore died in 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum closed down the project and stated that no more carvable rock existed.”
Since 1989 the National Park Service has worked with RESPEC, a rock mechanics engineering firm, to study the structural stability of the sculpture and to install rock block monitoring devices that assure long-term preservation of the sculpture, she said.
“RESPEC supports our long-held belief that no other rock near the sculpted faces is suitable for additional carving,” McGee-Ballinger said. “RESPEC also believes that if additional work were undertaken it is possible that exposing new surfaces could result in creation of potential instabilities in the existing carving.
“Second, Mount Rushmore was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum to represent the first 150 years of the history of the United States — the birth, growth and preservation of our country. He chose the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln) to represent the principles of our present form of government not to represent the individuals themselves.”
She said the memorial represents the ideals and meaning for which it was founded without the addition of other figures.
“It is one man’s artistic interpretation, and a tribute to that period of our nation’s history,” McGee-Ballinger said. “The National Park Service takes the position that death stayed the hand of the artist and the work is complete in its present form. Thus, to maintain both the integrity of the structure and the artist’s concept, there is no procedure for adding another likeness, the sculpture is complete.”
