Gerald L. K. Smith fully developed, in 1966 the centerpiece, the Christ of the Ozarks statue, was completed on Magnetic Mountain at an elevation of 1,500 feet, from where it overlooked the town. Emmet Sullivan, the sculptor, had worked under Gutzon Borglum as one of the sculptors of Mount Rushmore. Smith's original plans were for a life-size recreation of ancient Jerusalem in the hills near Eureka Springs; no construction of this portion took place. He did initiate an annual outdoor Passion Play, inspired by another passion play which is performed every ten years in the town of Oberammergau, Germany. It is staged in an
Needles (Black Hills) location was rejected by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum owing to the poor quality of the granite and the fact that they were too thin to support the sculptures. The Needles attract approximately 300,000 people annually. The area has a rich history of bold climbing by greatest climbers of their era, and has long been known for its purist ethics. In 1936 Fritz Wiessner climbed the "Totem Pole" and in 1937 "Khayyam Spire" with Bill House and Lawrence Coveney. In 1947 Jan and Herb Conn moved to the area and over the next couple decades put up over 220 first ascents.