ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Finally tonight, a look at a big hunk of history that came tumbling down, the Old Man of the Mountain. A 40-foot granite face etched by nature in New Hampshire sadly is no more. The discovery was made today, but it's been cloudy upon the mountain in recent days, so frankly, it is hard to say exactly when this all happened. Harder still to figure out the best way to say good-bye to the old man.</s>COOPER (voice-over): That was then. And this is now. After thousands of years of keeping sentinel over the state of New Hampshire, the old man of the mountain is gone. In the end, he likely fell victim to the same natural forces that forged him. In the words of one park official, "we always thought it was the hand of God holding him up, and he let go." That is happened now should come as no surprise. For nearly a century, the state had used cables and epoxy to keep the face from collapsing from erosion and the natural freeze and thaw cycle. And those who did the work warned a collapse was inevitable. To get an idea of just how important the old man in the mountain was to the people of New Hampshire, you have to realize that since the early 1800's, that's right the early 1800s, millions of tourists have traveled through Franconia Notch just to see it. And take a look at your spare change. The old man's profile appears on the state's quarter, not to mention it's license plate, state road signs, and every sort of souvenir or tourist knick-knack you can think of. While the old man's nose, mouth, and other parts of his face are just rubble now, we may not have seen the last of him. New Hampshire's Governor Craig Benson says the face should be restored.
Chunk of History Comes Tumbling Down