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The  Mount Rushmore National Monument is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States. Sculpted by Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction.

Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.

Mount Rushmore before the start of construction.

Gutzon Borglum creating a model of his vision.

Why Each of the Four Presidents Was ChosenGeorge Washington - He was the first president and represented the foundation of American democracy.

Thomas Jefferson - With the Louisiana Purchase, he greatly expanded the nation. He was also the author of the hugely influential Declaration of Independence.

Theodore Roosevelt - He not only represented the industrial development of the nation, but was also widely known for conservation efforts.

Abraham Lincoln - As the president during the US Civil War, he represents the preservation of the nation above all costs.

To cut the head of George Washington in the mountain, more than 2,000 cubic yards of granite had to be removed, a task requiring the use of about 6,000 pounds of 40 per cent du Pont special gelatin dynamite, and 40,000 No. 6 du Pont electric blasting caps.

To get faces to emerge from the mountain, workers bore cylindrical holes into the granite and ran electric charges from a blasting cap to a plunger box on the top of the mountain. The dynamite blasts were set off once all the workers were off the mountain.

Artist Gutzon Borglum doing an inspection.

Mount Rushmore seen from a distance.

Artist Gutzon Borglum looks over the work on Thomas Jefferson's face.

Gutzon Borglum checks out one of the eyes on Thomas Jefferson's face.

Three-eighths-inch steel cables raised, lowered, and suspended workers on the mountain.

To transfer the facial dimensions from Borglum's models to the mountain—how deep eyes should be set, where a nose would be—workers used red paint. An inch (2.5 centimeters) on the model equaled a foot (0.3 meter) on the mountain. There's still a bit of crimson under Lincoln's nostrils today.

Most of the buildings on the mountain were winch houses. Each had about five or six winches that would raise or lower workers.

Artist Gutzon Borglum oversees the work on Mount Rushmore.

Workers working on Washington's nose.

No special training was required to be on the monument-building team, but fortitude was.

It was dangerous work. They used the men who were willing to do it.

Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln, use the tramway.

Work progressing on Mount Rushmore during the winter.

Working on Abraham Lincoln.

A worker in a bosun chair on the Washington sculpture of Mount Rushmore.

Work progressing on Mount Rushmore during the winter.

Aerial view of construction.

George Washington completed.

Thomas Jefferson completed.

Theodore Roosevelt completed.

Abraham Lincolncompleted.

Mount Rushmore today.