艺廊作品介绍
落基山圣母像是位于美国大陆分水岭之上的一座圣母玛利亚的塑像，俯瞰着蒙大拿州比尤特市。这尊塑像高27米，是美国第二高的塑像，仅次于自由女神像。
落基山圣母像是志愿者用捐献的材料建造而成的。塑像的底座比海平面高近2,593米，比比尤特市高1,067米。塑像在夜间会亮灯，远处可见。
建造
1979年，本地居民鲍勃·奥比尔的妻子患了癌症，他向圣母玛利亚许愿，如果妻子身体康复，就在院中树立一个高5英尺的雕像。 他的妻子果真康复了，他改变了主意，而是要在高高的山顶塑一座90英尺高的像。他的乡邻一起帮他塑像，比尤特市很多人给他们捐献建材，一位知名的退休工程师免费设计塑像。这项工程开始于1979年12月29日，志愿者们夜间工作，炸开了一条通往落基山山顶的路，工程十分困难，有时候一天只能进展10英尺。1985年9月，塑像的底座浇筑完成，用了400吨混凝土。混凝土由比尤特市一家混凝土公司提供。1985年12月17日，美国国民警卫队出动CH-54空中起重机将分成四部分的基座合为一体。
摘自维基百科「落基山圣母像」，按 CC BY-SA 4.0 使用，繁体已转简体，去掉了参考文献、外部链接等尾部小节和表格，其余文字未作改动。
中文条目比较短，展开看英文维基百科的条目（英文原文）
Our Lady of the Rockies is a 90-foot (27 m) statue built in the likeness of Mary, the mother of Jesus, that stands atop the Continental Divide overlooking Butte, Montana, United States.
It is the fifth-tallest statue in the United States after Birth of the New World, the Statue of Liberty, the Pegasus and Dragon, and the Statue of Union. The base is 8,510 feet above sea level and approximately 3,000 feet above the town. The statue sits on private land and is lit and visible at night.
The statue was originally conceived by Butte resident Bob O'Bill in 1979 as a tribute to the Virgin Mary following the recovery of his wife from cancer. Later, the statue was additionally dedicated to "all women, especially mothers."
Construction
The statue was first imagined by Bob O'Bill in 1979 during a time when his wife was seriously ill with cancer. O'Bill decided he would build a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe if his wife would survive. His wife did recover. He began the project and eventually built a 90-foot mountaintop statue.
The statue was largely constructed using donations of money, materials, and labor from the local community. The design was made by Leroy Lee, the welder who fabricated the statue with help from Ron Hughes.
Work on the project began December 29, 1979. The base of the statue was poured in September 1985 with 400 tons of concrete. On December 17, 1985, a CH-54 Tarhe from the Army National Guard's 137th Aviation Company airlifted the statue in four sections to its present location at Saddle Rock atop Butte's East Ridge. The land for the site was donated by Guy Ossello. The head was placed on December 20, 1985.
Tourism
The Our Lady of the Rockies gift shop in Butte offers bus tours to the statue during summer.
Controversy
Opposition
Prior to the statue being erected, some residents voiced opposition to the project on religious grounds.
In 1981, evoking the doctrine of separation of church and state, Catholic priest Father Edward Hislop was quoted in The Montana Standard as saying, "Although the statue is on private ground, it is clearly in a public place. The East Ridge has always belonged to the people of Butte, and that might be offensive to some and pose difficulties."
In March 1985, nationally syndicated advice columnist Ann Landers published a letter from a reader complaining that "one religious group in Butte, Mont., is forcing its religious beliefs on an entire city."
Job Corps involvement
In August 1994, the Freedom From Religion Foundation received notice from one of its members that the nearby Anaconda Job Corps was involved in building a chapel at the statue site in Butte. Objecting to the use of federal resources in the construction of a place of worship, the foundation filed a letter of complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, which on September 11 ceased the Job Corps' involvement.
Tram to the site
In July 2005, a group of homeowners sued Our Lady of the Rockies over plans to use a road near their homes to build a tram to the statue. The plans were approved by Butte district court, but on appeal, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in April 2008 that the road is in fact private and cannot be used for the tram. Plans for the tram remain unrealized.