First phase of Old Man memorial is done

The Associated Press, via Foster's Daily Democrat, reported today (June 11, 2011) on the progress of the memorial to the fallen Old Man of the Mountain.

While the first phase is done, the timing of future phases hangs in the balance because donations to the project have fallen off.

You can get a sense of what the ragged profile looked like before the rock formation fell about eight years ago.

Noted the AP:

"Seven steel rods driven into a granite base hang over Profile Lake and point toward the cliff. Each has a series of irregular shapes on the side. When visitors position themselves correctly with the shapes, they can view an outline of the profile of a face in the same place where the Old Man existed for thousands of years, more than 1,000 feet above the lake."

A plaza where the memorial is located will be dedicated Sunday, June 12.

But money for future phases for the memorial is slow to come in, largely because of the economy.

Future work includes five huge standing granite stones that, when viewed in alignment, form the profile at about half the size of the naturally formed granite outcropping. The cost of the work is estimated at $3 million.