Franconia Notch was long the residence of the Old Man of the Mountain, a natural granite formation shaped like a man's face that became New Hampshire's beloved state symbol (look for his familiar profile on New Hampshire state highway signs). Sadly, the Old Man collapsed in 2003, but tourists still come to see the featureless cliff that remains. In 2013 New Hampshire opened this memorial, including granite benches, interpretive signs and stones engraved with people's memories of the Old Man.
Along the path from the parking lot to the plaza you'll find a gift shop and a museum displaying forensically accurate diagrams of ‘the Profile’s’ collapse along with other tributes to the Old Man.
