Free Republic

A Cascade of Books by Frank Eliscu is a bronze sculptural screen that rises five stories above the main entrance to the James Madison Memorial Building of the Library of Congress. Measuring approximately 50 feet high by 35 feet wide, it consists of 98 open books, with some as large as five feet wide. Abraham Lincoln's bust was carved directly from the block of marble rather than creating a copy of a plaster cast made from a clay model. Sculpted by Gutzon Borglum, best known for his sculptures at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. The statue of President Abraham Lincoln depicts...

The story behind a plaque at Mount Rushmore explaining the history of the United States of America with quite a Christian flavor would probably surprise many people. President Calvin Coolidge met the artist Gutzon Borglum who prompted him to dedicate the site for a carving of four president's busts in the 1920's. Coolidge helped to raise funds and was even present as the cornerstone was laid and said, “We have come here to dedicate a cornerstone laid by the hand of the Almighty. …The union of these four presidents carved on the face of the everlasting Black Hills of South...