Old Man of The Mountain in New Hampshire has collapsed

[lmalave]

For all you New Englanders:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/05/03/old.man.mountian.ap/index.html

Weird to think that it's gone. Oh well, at least I was able to see it when I lived in Boston.

 

[evoluzione]

ahh that's a shame, it's sad when stuff like this happens.

however, if you look a the "after" pic on the right, it kind of looks like an angry face, with the dark patches looking like an eye and an open mouth. s'what i think anyways

 

[wdlove]

Re: Old Man of The Mountain in New Hampshire has collapsed

Originally posted by lmalave
For all you New Englanders:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/05/03/old.man.mountian.ap/index.html

Weird to think that it's gone. Oh well, at least I was able to see it when I lived in Boston.

I've only seen pictures of it in print and on TV. It is trully a great loss. With modern technology maybe it can be repaired? This will be a terrible loss to all New Englanders, but especially residents of New Hampshire "The Granite State."

 

[Mr. Anderson]

It won't ever be replicated - its truly a shame...

I remember seeing the Old Man License plate for the first time and thiking that was pretty damn cool - I wonder if they'll continue with it or use something else now.

D

 

[Pismo]

I live in New Hampshire and I'm sad that it is gone. I was fortunate to see it when I was younger. Franconia Notch is the greatest tourist attraction in NH and now it will never be the same.

The face is beyond repair. Even if someone tried to put it back together, it would be the hardest jigsaw puzzle ever. I'm sure a monument will be built for people to remember it and I'm sure the face will remain on our NH license plates.

Life goes on...

 

[Gelfin]

Originally posted by Pismo
I'm sure a monument will be built for people to remember it and I'm sure the face will remain on our NH license plates.

And it will live on in people's "50 States Quarters" collections in perpetuity.

It's always a little sobering when something you expected to be around longer than all forseeable generations of your descendants changes suddenly, drastically and permanently. Kind of makes you reevaluate other things even less seemingly durable that you nonetheless take for granted.

 

[DavidFDM]

I grew up in the foothills of the White Mountains and my favorite place to take visitors was the Franconia region. It is such an amazingly beautiful place, such an amazing collection of flora, water and geology; it left most people speechless. This has really saddened me. It is one of the things you think will last forever. I hope that there is no movement to repair the formation. I think that would lessen its memory. I will raise a glass to the Old Man sometime soon and I hope you all will too.

Daniel Webster said "In the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."

 

[JesseJames]

Oh well. It's geology man. Thing ain't going to last forever.
Just surprising that it happened in my lifetime.

 

[wdlove]

Originally posted by evoluzione
ahh that's a shame, it's sad when stuff like this happens.

however, if you look a the "after" pic on the right, it kind of looks like an angry face, with the dark patches looking like an eye and an open mouth. s'what i think anyways

The after picture looks like a skeleton, it give hope to restoration. Governor Craig Benson of NH has already formed a task force to examine the possibility of resurrecting the symbol. Kathy Proulx, "It was the foundation of the state, like the foundation of a house." "The Old Man was always watching over us, and now he's gone."

They had anticipated the demise of the Old Man as far back as 1916, when steel pins were inserted for reinforcement.

 

[evoluzione]

in a weird way, i hope they don't rebuild it. yes it's a big shame it's gone, but there's a line to messing with Mother Nature. Sure, try and preserve it, and prevent it from falling, but now it's fallen, let it lie...however big a part of life it has been.

 

[cspace]

i don't think the old man liked what he was seeing and had enough...the liberty and freedom that he stood for are slowly disappearing. RIP old man. you will be missed.

 

[rainman::|:|]

yeah i don't know much about it (i'm not from new england but i'm drunk on Cape Codders, so i'm an expert ), but the coolness factor here is that it was naturally occurring-- if we rebuilt it, it would be manmade. definitely not the same. anyone can sculpt a face out of rock, but mother nature is rarely so ... can't even find the word for it--

pnw

 

[jayb2000]

nature happens

It is sad to see him go, but its been a long time coming.
They have been using epoxy and cables to try to stop it from falling for years.

I use to drive to Canada through the notch and would always stop to see him, if the weather was not covering it up.

I think trying to recreate in location would be too artificial. But it might be cool if they created a 1:1 scale model in the parking lot where you could view him from so people could see how big it was.

LIVE FREE OR DIE!
Long live the Old Man.

 

[wdlove]

New Englanders are divided over the restoration. I'm willing to wait and see what Gov. Benson's task force decides. What is left of he Old Man will continue to be a tourist attraction!

Mike Barnacle, 96.9 FM talk is dicussing the issue on his show today, he thinks the whole thing is nutty!

 

[scem0]

Originally posted by evoluzione
ahh that's a shame, it's sad when stuff like this happens.

however, if you look a the "after" pic on the right, it kind of looks like an angry face, with the dark patches looking like an eye and an open mouth. s'what i think anyways

ha, it does look like an angry face!

I wonder what he is angry at.....

 

[wdlove]

According to the Boston Globe Sunday 5/11 "Old Man unlikely to return in NH" A task force is in place and every suggestion for how to honor 'Old Man' is being considered. Stephen Merrill, former governor of NH heads a 12 member task force. The current governor has recieved over 17,000 sugestions via E.Mail, voice mail, and regular mail!

 

[JesseJames]

We are in a federal deficit. Trying to battle terrorism. Economic recession. We have troops in two countries trying to maintain civility. And we are worried over some freaking rocks that look like a profile of an old man? Am I the only one that thinks this is a little insane?
I realize it's a symbol of pride for a state. But come on people. Being a little too sentimental about this huh? It was going to happen sooner or later! It's a natural rock formation not a man-made sculpture or structure.
I can't believe I'm saying this but let the 'Old Man' rest in peace.