When I was 11 years old, my family and I went to Mount Rushmore on vacation. My father had heard about Korczak and his Crazy Horse Monument and took us to see it. When we met Korczk, he took us on a tour of his home and studio that faced the mountain. He rolled out a completed alabaster sculpture of his vision for the Crazy Horse Monument. The sculpture was rolled out on rails like you’d see in a mine. The outstretched hand of the sculpture pointed directly to the mountain. It was beautiful and impressive. When we met him, he’d already been blasting away at it for 17 years and only managed to create an L-shape in the side of the mountain. Today, that would be the face and the top of the arm. Even as an 11 yr. old, I realized he wouldn’t live long enough to see its completion. So I asked him who would finish it and he told me he had 10 children! Now, 60 years later, I’m thinking I won’t live long enough to see its completion! But I never forgot meeting him, his beautiful sculpture and his vision. That was a great vacation trip.

@dirtyrotten2648

9 ай бұрын

I went there in the early 70s. There was only the hole under his arm.

@JWRay-xh9wl

9 ай бұрын

I was there in the early 80s,his face had been mostly formed,and the hole you talk of was there.

@roscoepatternworks3471

9 ай бұрын

When I saw mt Rushmore the first time, crazy horse monument wasn't started. And no tourist heard about it. I'm sure the idea must have been there.

@Robert_Keel

9 ай бұрын

I was there about the same time you were - with the same experience. I also remeber the fighting stallions sculpture. A trip I will also never forget.

@rogerthomas169

9 ай бұрын

I was there in 77. We asked if he was there and were informed that he doesn't greet the public any longer. The white sculptured model of it was on the deck of I beleive was the visitor center, and was posed in the same direction as the one on the mountain, so you could stand behind the model and line it up with the the one on the mountain. I remember the driveway was lined with some of his world acclaimed sculpted busts and all their noses were broken off by a hammer wielding drunken son in law. While returning to our car in the lot, a flatbed semi was being backed into the woods next to us. A large old man with long hair and a long beard was hollering at the young man driving the truck that if he couldn't listen and do a better job driving that he would do it himself, quite a spectacle. My soon to be wife mlm looked at me excitedly and said...it's him! and it was.

Medieval cathedrals were often constructed over multiple generations. The master masons who designed them often never lived to see their completion. Projects such as these have been rarely seen since. Our technological progress makes it easy to fit our ambitions into a single life. We lack the patience to try for anything loftier. And worse, we grow accustomed to it. Economic incentives limit our outlook to the next quarter. Looming crises are dismissed as problems for the next generation. We loose the far sighted perspective that men once had. But were we to recover that perspective, what great things we could accomplish, for ourselves and the world.

@mchurch3905

9 ай бұрын

Now if we could somehow shed the shackles of the enemy of creativity: the ever-shrinking human attention span.

@markbonner1139

9 ай бұрын

WOW!!! Takes me back to the '60s. 'That's really deep,man!!' Or was it Cheech & Chong?

@sunnyskye213

8 ай бұрын

Well spoken.....Hung on every word!

@MrGalileo517

8 ай бұрын

Well said

I know it won't happen in my lifetime but I hope that some day this gets finished.

This will be greatest monument ever, especially in this fantastic landscape !

@7drunkenmermaids431

29 күн бұрын

And deservingly so, for the Natives who were here for hundreds of life times ahead of us. I love it.

The hand is beautiful ❤

No government help. Freedom on display.

@artnouveau7633

9 ай бұрын

They wanted the government to stay away,their treatment of the Native Americans is the reason the work is done solely by donations

@randyjohnson-er9rd

8 ай бұрын

Curious how many indian casino's are lining up to sponser ever since we visited in2016. Very impressive but the cost today must be mindboggling.

So happy to see another portion finished awesome

This is absolutely impressive! What an incredible undertaking!

WOW! You can see the hand now. The detail is incredible! The thumb nail and fingernails... Such a majestic place. So glad they carved this monument honoring Crazy Horse and are still working on it. Can’t wait to see it in person

The detail and dedication is very impressive. It’s coming together just as Korczak and Standing Bear’s vision foretold. This is a living masterpiece. RIP Ruth K & Casimir

Absolutely stunning to see the hand and arm take shape!

I hope these workers realize how fortunate they are to be able to work on this, what an honor

I gotta give a ✋ hand to em. They can carve

I remember seeing a show titled They Said it Couldn't be Done back in the early 70's when this guy was just starting the project. Impressive how it has progressed since then.

@johnlux6635

9 ай бұрын

Uh he started in 1948. It's been 75 years and it's still barely started.

@stephenflood7397

8 ай бұрын

I saw it in the middle 50's. Just the face was taking shape.

I'll be dad,for the 1st time, in 2 months.Hope one day I'll be there to visit that masterpiece with my daughter.Can't wait❤. All the best from all those who are working there at the moment. Greetings from Italy .

@GreenTea3699

9 ай бұрын

Congratulations! 🎉 May you have many years of beautiful memories in this new stage of life!

@markbonner1139

9 ай бұрын

Yul never c it completed, sorry. MAYBE yur Great Great Great Grandchildren,at the pace they're going.Big maybe!

I was working for Phillips66 Oil Co. in Rapid City SD in 1974 and Korczak Ziolkowski was using our fuel and lubricants in all his equipment . I spent a day with him on the mountain and the evening at his home. He drove me all over the area in his jeep and we drank whiskey in his living room. His wife Ruth brought it to us straight, in water glass tumblers!! (after a day with no meals....ugh!) He was a wonderful guy, full of enthusiasm and loving life and his gigantic project. He knew that he would not live to finish the sculpture , and he said so. He hoped that his family and foundation would complete it someday. However, nearby Rapid City is the location of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology , one of the premier hard rock mining engineering schools in the nation. I studied Civil Engineering there in the years following my visits with Korczak, and expert geophysical scientists and mining engineers at the school had determined that the Crazy Horse sculpture could never be completed because the rock the mountain is comprised of is not monolithic or uniform and could never support the type of sculpture that Ziolkowski envisioned. I can clearly see that coming true in this video made 50 years after I stood on the top of the mountain with Korczak. There's been very little change or progress in 50 years, and what has been done bears only a passing resemblance to the models and drawings Ziolkowski made originally. Too bad - His was a magnificent vision , but the raw material just was not then, and never will be there to make it real.

@stevenichols4639

8 ай бұрын

It’s quite the tourist trap. They have there. I first saw Crazyhorse in 1980 something and I saw it last in 2017. It’s virtually unchanged.

@wendyalexander1893

8 ай бұрын

Very interesting perspective. Complete opposite from another commenter. How sad it’s a tourist trap. So not the original intention.

I hope we can see so much improvement soon! Can't wait to see the arm in his full glory

What a beautiful giant

Looking good. Maybe anther 50 years before it will be completed.

I went to see this statue 9 years ago. It’s just beyond words.

Amazing

They've come a long way since I was there in 1978, and it looks like many years before it will be completed.

@tomstenzel4271

8 ай бұрын

we won't see it in our life time, maybe not even in our children's life time.

@fluorite1965

8 ай бұрын

IF EVER

My grandparents all lived in South Dakota, from the 30s to the early 2000s (they live long up there), and my paternal GPS lived in Spearfish and Rapid, and I grew up going to the area including the Crazy Horse memorial. I’m amazed, now in my 60s, how it’s come along but still has so far to go. It’s a difficult thing to carve out a mountainside of rock, but it’s looking great.

This is a great place!! Beautiful works all around. My favorite SD attraction.

Went there in 1973, 2004, and 2016. Not sure if they'll be done in my life or not, but still very cool.

I saw Crazy Horse Monument about 20 years ago, on a road trip. I was very impressed. I want to get up there again to see the progress.

Wow. Big improvements. Keep it going guys. 👍👌✋️🙌

This is a wonderful monument! Been there once and will return again someday!

Wife and I saw it in July of 73, while visiting Mt Rushmore and the Black Hills. Impressive vision - Doubt if it will be done in my lifetime, as I am 80 now.

I was there in the early 90's marveling at the magnificence of this undertaking...warms my Heart that it's being taken ( albeit in baby steps ) to the next level !

Amazing!!

Wikipedia: Crazy Horse (c. 1840 - September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by white American settlers on Native American territory and to preserve the traditional way of life of the Lakota people. His participation in several famous battles of the Black Hills War on the northern Great Plains, among them the Fetterman Fight in 1866, in which he acted as a decoy, and the *Battle of the Little Bighorn* in 1876, in which he led a war party to victory, earned him great respect from both his enemies and his own people. In September 1877, four months after surrendering to U.S. troops under General George Crook, Crazy Horse was fatally wounded by a bayonet-wielding military guard while allegedly resisting imprisonment at Camp Robinson in present-day Nebraska. He was honored by the U.S. Postal Service in 1982 with a 13¢ Great Americans series postage stamp.

I have a piece of the mountain from my visit in 2021.

Thank you so much for this video, it's much easier to see the dimensions than in Progress! More please!❤❤❤

Majestic ❤

the progress is amazing🔆

@markrouse2416

9 ай бұрын

The progress is glacial, as in slow, very very slow.

@terrywade3696

9 ай бұрын

It’s taken 77 years to get this far!

Wow!Wow!Wow!😊

When driving cross country in 1979 we visited here, great memories.

My dad took our family to see Crazy Horse in the 1960's when Mr. Korczak was alive. The drive up the drive lined with his sculptures. they progress is amazing. I love that no government money is being used to build this tribute! I have been there several times, but the last time was 2007. Ready to go in person again.

It's advanced quite a bit since I was there. Excellent.

Saw this in 1994 when we were at Mt Rushmore and it was only his face great progress since then

He lived a noble life and deserves this recognition.

Perhaps not finished in the lifetimes of most of us,but what a wonderful tribute to the First Americans.

Magnificently beautiful.

I will definitely go there on vacation

Cool AF!

Nice flyin!

looks awesome! this is an amazing feat of engineering tbh!

Go on a day they blast. The feel of the shockwave is intense

I saw this 30 years ago. Not much has changed

From first time when I saw this ,it was august 2011,still think that it is a greatest monument in history as pyramides!Glory to the Humanity!!!

Very glad to see that it's still being worked on. Was worried that after the driver for the monument passed that the project would too. It will be wonderful when complete.

Judging by the progress vs time... I would say about 80~90 years maybe sooner if techniques and all out funding happen. This will be the worlds largest carving in stone.

It will be fantastic when it is done.

I remember when they began construction on this in 1948. Amazing to see how far it’s come along!

@markbonner1139

9 ай бұрын

1948!!!! & that's as far as they've gotten?!?!? MUST B GOVERNMENT UNDERTAKING!!! MIGHT FINISH when,the year 3027????

👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️

I hope I get to see this before I die!

I was there in 77 . We rode motorcycle’s from Minot Air Force Base in N.D. Even then it was well worth the trip . This place needs more press.

I hope I live long enough to see it completed .

The hand is taking shape...........I am speechless! what a beauty. Tokehaya 🙏

63 now, sadly feel I won't be around to see this finished. Last visit was during the 69th Annual Black Hills Classic in 2009.

Am 70, hope to see it finished in my life time...

5,000 years from now people will still stare at it in awe

@Yes-tk4km

9 ай бұрын

Yeah they’ve been working on this thing for close to 5000 years ....

@johnlux6635

9 ай бұрын

Probably almost be finished by then

@markbonner1139

9 ай бұрын

EXACTLY!!!AIN'T DONE YET!?!?!?

@Bob-tn5xn

9 ай бұрын

Lmao

@Bob-tn5xn

9 ай бұрын

Are these the same guys that fix our highways and bridges !

It would be very cool if there was an inside look at the Architectural/Civil engineering on this mountain. The careful process on how it’s done, and modeling a very nice video.

I was there when I was 19, That was in 1976. I can’t believe it’s not finished

Im 55 and this is the first time I've heard of this, will definitely look up the story

There are only six guys working on it. No wonder it has taken them decades to complete.

It's truly amazing! Sadly, it probably won't be completed for another 300 years... or more.

Sad to say it will never be finished before I die, even with an expectation that I will live another 20 years.

Pretty groovy which drone are you using

I went in early 90’s. Just his head then. And you were back about 1/4-1/3 mile.

I was in first grade in 1975 when we went, pretty much just had a hole through the mountain below where his arm would be

What is the completion date? 2850?

I can hear him now, "Go West young man!"

@codymoe4986

7 ай бұрын

Crazy Horace Greeley?

@archangel_one

7 ай бұрын

@@codymoe4986 I don't know if you noticed, but the largest feature of this strange statue of Curly is his arm pointing West.

Reminds me of the Aerosmith song "Chip Away At The Stone". Keep at it, you WILL finish. Some day soon.

They say the native who started it will never die until it is completed. Look for this to take 1000 years.

Crazy Horse did not want to be photographed while he lived (and wasn't, so we actually don't even know what he looked like for sure) so I kind of doubt he'd want an image in his name be the reason for the carving up of a mountain on sacred Lakota land.

I have visited that place, but didn't get close to the actual sculpture. I figure that at the rate they're progressing on it, they'll have it completed in another 200-300 years.

If they made this in China, it would’ve been down in 2 weeks.

That’s looking good!

Hope to see it complicated in my lifetime, as progress is so slow

Hmmmm looks like he is having a heepin good time.

What a Great Tribute to Native Americans......

What made Crazy Horse CRAZY?

The freedom of native Americans for all to see .

Wonder if I'll still be alive when it's finally finished.

I bet some Native Americans would see the undisturbed mountain more beautiful than a carving.

@codymoe4986

7 ай бұрын

And I'll bet some are excited to see the monument completed... Were you attempting to make a point or just mumbling randoms?

I remember the sculptor on television decades ago. He was showing a statue of what was to be the monument. He said experts said he couldn't carve the mountain into a free standing monument that would look just like the statute. The sculptor said if he could make they small statue the monument would work also. He was completely ignoring the square cubed rule that relates to the ratio of strength to size. I don't know if he believed the monument would be stable or just wanted to hype the project for funding purposes. Anyway I hope they don't go past the face and horse head emerging from the rock so the monument stands up to the test of time.

How long 2 carve Rushmore?

This and devils peak are alot older than people remember. Like just as old as the sphinx but what ever devils peak use to be was erased with dynamite and the inhabitants erased as well.

A million years from now archaeologists will be trying to convince everyone this is just a natural formation

I said it before and I'll say it again: This project will trundle on for another century and be milked by the powers that run it and by their children and their children's children. It will never finish. Countless sums will be spent by credulous sight-seers and fill the coffers of somebody or something. I'd like to see the retrospective that is published when the whole effort is quietly shut-down and everybody leaves and the Crazy Horse is eventually covered with any foliage that can take root in the little pockets of soil that will, eventually, collect in the hollows.

@johnwyoder

8 ай бұрын

Exactly. We were there in 2017, and got the distinct impression that their main goal was collecting the admission fees rather than the completion of the project.

@wmason1961

8 ай бұрын

​@johnwyoder, that has been my impression every time I visited. They really don't want it finished.

@libbyreinsch1845

7 ай бұрын

Most people don't realize that the origional builder said the government will never have their hands in this creation. The government took their land but not their dignity.

I think Ai and the internet are going to extinguished mankind long before this is finished. Still pretty cool, it'll be around long after we're gone

When is this going to be done ?

"My land is where my died lye buried".

When they finish the arm they should work on the horse next

Perhaps in the resurrection, Mr. Korczak will get to finish his project.

Wow only took them 40 years

I remember going to see this in 2019. I thought that it was impressive, until I found out that the family had to be told to finish it, or at least work on it rather than just charging admission for people to see it, or they'd lose their protected status on it and have to pay big money to the government over the lack of progress. I'm glad to see that the work is progressing. I also remember seeing that they schedule blasting, and the photo that they had up showing one of the times looked wild.

The estimated time frames for building Egyptian Pyramids is 15 to 30 years!!! 4000 years later, with superior technology and 76 years of working this is the result???