Measuring a 60-Foot Face

Carving 60-foot faces into solid granite is no mean feat, but how did Borglum even create the measurements for such a large-scale project to begin with? To scale his sculpture from a small model to the face of a mountain, he relied on a technique dating back to the sculptors of Ancient Greece. Using a mechanical pointing tool, artists could measure precise reference points on a model and transfer them to a much larger surface. A team of workers then spent eight hours a day drilling Borglum’s design into reality, creating the colossal monument we know today as Mount Rushmore National Memorial - a landmark visited by millions every year.