Borglum View Terrace

Borglum View Terrace sits at 5,204 feet on the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, facing 60 degrees with a drop of 318 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. This is the site where Gutzon Borglum stood while planning the carving of Mount Rushmore National Memorial from 1927 to 1939. His original studio was torn down in the late 1950s, leaving only two fireplaces, and the framework visible today was added later to show the studio's original size and location. A bronze plaque on the studio remnants carries an essay written by William Andrew Burkett, a young Nebraskan who won the college-age category of a 1934 essay contest sponsored by Borglum and the Hearst newspapers to sum up the first 100 years of United States history; Borglum later decided against carving any winning text into the sculpture, and Burkett donated the plaque himself. From the terrace, Eagle Mountain is visible to the north-northeast at 4.0 miles, Echo Peak to the northeast at 4.7 miles, Silver Mountain to the north-northeast at 5.3 miles, and Boulder Hill to the north-northeast at 6.5 miles. The facing looks toward sunrise. Rapid City lies 18.0 miles northeast, Box Elder 26.2 miles northeast, and Sturgis 37.2 miles north. Mount Rushmore Viewpoint precedes this stop, and Historic Viewing Terrace follows.