<P> The profile has been New Hampshire's state emblem since 1945 . It was put on the state's license plate, state route signs, and on the back of New Hampshire's Statehood Quarter, which is popularly promoted as the only US coin with a profile on both sides . Before the collapse, it could be seen from special viewing areas along Interstate 93 in Franconia Notch State Park, approximately 80 miles (130 km) north of the state's capital, Concord . </P> <P> Freezing and thawing opened fissures in the Old Man's forehead . By the 1920s, the crack was wide enough to be mended with chains, and in 1957 the state legislature passed a $25,000 appropriation for a more elaborate weatherproofing, using 20 tons of fast - drying cement, plastic covering, and steel rods and turnbuckles, plus a concrete gutter to divert runoff from above . A team from the state highway and park divisions maintained the patchwork each summer . </P> <P> Nevertheless, the formation collapsed to the ground between midnight and 2 a.m., May 3, 2003 . Dismay over the collapse was so great that people left flowers at the base of the cliffs in tribute . </P> <P> Early after the collapse, many New Hampshire citizens considered replacement with a replica . That idea was rejected by an official task force in 2003 headed by former Governor Steve Merrill . </P>

When did the old man in the mountain fall