Mt. Rushmore has four familiar faces, but could have been five! Sculptor Gutzon Borglum was happy with his carving of four presidents. Others, however, clamored for a fifth great face.
In 1937 a bill was introduced to Congress attempting to add Susan B. Anthony to Mt. Rushmore. Borglum was repeatedly asked why this women's rights crusader could not be among the faces on Rushmore. His response to this and all other calls for a fifth face was always the same: There was simply not enough good, unfaulted granite remaining.
This didn't stop others, including a young senator named Hubert Humphrey. In 1949 Humphrey's resolution to Congress asked for the addition of Franklin Roosevelt to Rushmore. Years earlier Roosevelt had hosted a Whit House luncheon for sculptor Borglum. During the meal Borglum casually sketched his Mt. Rushmore as the President watched. Jokingly or not, Borglum penciled in a fifth face among his famous four-Franklin Roosevelt's. Borglum made no promises and Roosevelt did not comment on the sketch. But some claimed that Borglum later found federal funds easier to obtain.
In 1963 private individuals suggested that slain President John F. Kennedy become the fifth stone face. Similar rumblings were heard when Eisenhower died in 1969.
More recently an Italian camera crew to see a fifth face in their exposed film. It looked like the profile of an Indian male. With a strong imagination and proper lighting you too may see this unintended face below Washington.
The four faces of Rushmore are not finished. Some detail work remains in Roosevelt's face. Borglum once said, "the head of Washington will be continued on down to the knees..." Then there is Lincoln's hand, just below his chin. Most find the unfinished hand unrecognizable. Borglum had also planned a "Grand Stairway" up the mountain, one that would rival the steps of the Acropolis. This mighty stairway would have taken visitors up very near Lincoln's head and hand. The National Park Service felt the stairs were both too risky for visitors and too expensive for government. All climbing is currently prohibited at Rushmore though in the 1930s tour guides regularly led visitors to the top.
10/01/03