Mount Rushmore Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. His initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from American Indian groups. They settled on Mount Rushmore, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature American West heroes such as Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, and Buffalo Bill Cody, but Borglum decided that the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents. Senator Peter Norbeck sponsored the project
Mount Rushmore of Mount Rushmore", posing for photographs with thousands of tourists. He became one of the most photographed people in the world. The ongoing conservation of the site is overseen by the National Park Service. Physical efforts to conserve the monument have included replacement of the sealant applied originally by Gutzon Borglum, which had proved ineffective at providing water resistance. The components of Borglum's sealant included linseed oil, granite dust, and white lead, but a modern silicone replacement is now used, disguised with granite dust. In 1998, electronic monitoring devices were installed to track movement in the topology of the sculpture