Lincoln Borglum had nearly completed the 60-foot heads of the four presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and T. Roosevelt) when he died on March 6, 1941. Lincoln Borglum had to abandon his father's ambitious plans to carry the work down to include the torsos of the presidents and an entablature due to a lack of funding; he left the monument largely in the state of completion it had reached under his father's direction. Borglum was appointed Mount Rushmore National Memorial's first superintendent and began serving on October 1, 1941. The work on the monument officially stopped on October 31, 1941. He served in
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.