Mount Rushmore ‘Overrated’? Say It Isn’t So!
Over the years, the website Thrillist has been one of the leading cheerleaders for South Dakota. Just nine months ago, they proclaimed South Dakota the 'Most Underrated State in America'.
How quickly they forget...
In a recent story listing 'Overrated American Tourist Attractions', Thrillist began their 'hitlist' with none other than Mount Rushmore:
Fresh off failing to complete a giant monument to the Confederacy (yes, THAT Confederacy) on the side of Stone Mountain in Georgia, Mt. Rushmore's designer eagerly agreed to create a giant carving of some sort that would bring tourists to South Dakota... which he would also fail to complete before being fired rather ignominiously. Eventually this giant roadside attraction would be finished (not before leaving the men who worked on it with permanent lung damage), but it is seriously debatable whether or not it made the already pretty stunning Black Hills more attractive. What it has done is somehow become synonymous with greatness, sparking endless unnecessary debates about who belongs on the "Mt. Rushmore of [INSERT SOMETHING HERE]." The problem though is that this earnest, somewhat staid monument (that's actually smaller than you expect) doesn't even make our Mt. Rushmore of roadside attractions (Cadillac Ranch, anyone?!), and you have to go pretty far out of your way, so why bother?
They recommend skipping George, Abe, Thomas, and Teddy for a trip to the Badlands or to Wyoming's nearby Devils Tower.
Mount Rushmore shouldn't feel too bad though, Thrillist also disparaged the Statue of Liberty, the Alamo, and Mall of America on the list.
I say we offer up the Corn Palace in exchange for getting South Dakota's 'Great Faces' off the list. (Sorry Mitchell, nothing personal)