Liebherr Tower Crane Crafts Colossal Crazy Horse Carving

Mon July 21, 2025
Liebherr

In the Black Hills of South Dakota, a large memorial depicting Oglala warrior, Crazy Horse, has been under construction since 1948.

It began when Chief Henry Standing Bear wrote a letter to Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski asking him to carve a mountain in the likeness of Crazy Horse to honor Native Americans. Crazy Horse Memorial is a 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian project dedicated to protecting and preserving the cultures, traditions and living heritage of the North American Indians.

Crazy Horse was a renowned war leader of the Oglala band of Lakota Sioux. As settlers expanded westward into Native territories, he defended his homeland and played a crucial role in several significant battles including the Powder River Campaign, Red Cloud's War, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The commitment to his people and his courageous leadership made him a revered figure in Native American history.

Sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, dedicated his life to see the Crazy Horse Memorial come to fruition. He, his wife Ruth and their ten children worked and lived where the sculpting of Crazy Horse Mountain and operations of the Visitor Center became a family affair.

The Crazy Horse Memorial, the world's largest mountain carving, is planned to reach an impressive 641 ft. in length and 563 ft. height. The outstretched left arm will span 263 ft. long with the extended index finger measuring 29 ft. 6 in. The face of Crazy Horse, completed in 1998 under direction of Ruth Ziolkowski, stands 87 ft. 6 in., more than 27 ft. taller than the heads of the U.S. Presidents on Mount Rushmore.

Critical Infrastructure

Progress on the Crazy Horse Mountain continues to be made daily as carvers focus on refining the details of Crazy Horse's left hand, upper arm and on the backside of the sculpture. In addition, carvers also are currently working on Crazy Horse's right shoulder and the horse's mane. However, sculpting the world's largest mountain carving presents multiple large-scale obstacles.

One of the primary challenges facing the project is and always has been limited accessibility. Methods used in the past include a combination of road development carving work ‘benches' and working from ropes. In addition, this site requires immense heavy equipment, including large construction machinery and a recently acquired 15,000 lb. robotic arm which will assist with sculpting the mountain. Moving large equipment to many parts of the work site has been challenging or impossible without a heavy lifting tower crane.

In 2023, Caleb Ziolkowski, chief mountain officer of CHMF, engaged in a conversation with Morrow Equipment Company at ConExpo, the largest construction trade show in the United States, to discuss the scale and ambition of this monumental project. Inspired by the vision, Morrow recognized that the Liebherr 1000 EC-H 40 top-slewing tower crane was the ideal solution to transform material accessibility on this massive mountain carving.

"I originally met Caleb Ziolkowski at Conexpo 2023 and discussed the possibility of using a tower crane to complete the Crazy Horse Memorial. It was an amazing opportunity for Morrow and Liebherr," said Peter Juhren, president of Morrow Equipment Company. "I visited the site in June of 2023 to see the monument firsthand and to discuss the crane that would be needed. After the meeting, I was amazed at the history of this project, and how we wanted to make this successful. It will be an exciting time as we work together on this amazing passion of the Ziolkowski's and the Lakota people."

The tower crane will be a game changer for not only moving the heavy robotic arm, but also large equipment such as excavators, dozers and drills. In addition, the tower crane opens the possibility of removing large blocks of granite without the need to break them apart. Granite is a sought-after building material providing the memorial many future building opportunities.

The Liebherr 1000 EC-H 40 top-slewing tower crane is ideal for large construction sites handling high lifting capacities and can be adapted to the individual requirements of the crane operator and project site. Equipped with multiple intelligent assistance systems and a slim, modular design means that top-slewing cranes from Liebherr can adjust to any specific requirement necessary for the Crazy Horse Memorial. The current crane at the mountain site offers an 262 ft. jib with a 213 ft. hook height.

The Liebherr, Morrow and Crazy Horse teams were able to meet again at bauma 2025 to further discuss planning and operations at the Crazy Horse Memorial site now that the tower crane has begun erection. As the memorial sculpture continues to evolve, the arrival of the powerful Liebherr crane marks a significant step forward — both accelerating progress and reinforcing the shared commitment of Liebherr and Morrow to support the Ziolkowski family and Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation's enduring mission on this culturally significant site.

A Greater Mission

Present day, the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation board of directors, Crazy Horse Memorial management and staff, as well as the second and third generation Ziolkowski family members continue this mission.

In addition, Crazy Horse Memorial including the mountain carving in progress, the Indian Museum of North America and the Indian University of North America are funded solely by admissions and private donations, without government funding.

"The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation board is focused on ensuring all initiatives serve the mission. In doing so, while our campus is home to all three — the mountain, the museum and the university, we are fully aware that it is the mountain that first engages the public," said Della Burns, board director of CHMF. "Visitors bring their curiosity, are awed by what they experience and they leave inspired. The crane will move our timeline forward at a more rapid pace and we are so grateful to Liebherr and Morrow for joining us in this vision."

"As Korczak's grandson, it's hard to put into words the humbling nature of involvement in this undertaking. It started long before my birth and will be visited for thousands of years after I'm gone," said Caleb Ziolkowski, chief moutain officer of CHMF. "Billions of people will see the art we create. That brings some pressure as well as motivation. As always, progress takes effort, perseverance and time, but the nobility of the mission and awe-inspiring nature of the carving are more than worth it."

Article courtesy of Liebherr