Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HOOVER DAM & BOULDER CITY
Hoover Dam
(
%
702/494-2517; www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam; visitor center daily
9am-6pm)
is the first manmade structure to actually exceed the masonry mass of
Egypt's great pyramids. A kind of inverted pyramid itself, the Dam has been
named one of the Top Ten Construction Achievements of the 20th Century, one
of Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World, and the Civil Engineering
Monument of the Millennium. Though the dam is first and foremost a public
works project, it's also a masterpiece. And it's what enables us to comfortably
spend any amount of time in Southern Nevada. Let me explain . . .
The men and women who built Hoover Dam succeeded in altering Mother
Nature. They actually changed the path of the Colorado River, which flowed
through seven states, by trapping its waters and converting what was essentially
snow runoff from the Rockies into electricity and irrigation for the entire south-
west portion of the United States, including the Las Vegas Valley. Desert land that
was once barren and sparsely populated was converted into lush cities and thriv-
ing metropolises that could farm their own fruits and vegetables.
The timing couldn't have been better: Construction began in 1931 at the
height of the Depression. The project was originally set to begin later, but hun-
dreds of unemployed Americans caught wind of the plans, and before there were
even living quarters set up, they flocked to southern Nevada to wait, and hope,
for employment.
A total of 21,000 workers came to the area to create this colossal concrete
structure, working 24 hours a day, 363 days a year at an average wage of $4 per
day in hellish conditions. And they started from scratch. Before they arrived, this
was a barren spot with no electricity and no clean water, just craggy mountains
and arid, 120°F (49°C) temperatures. Living out of their cars and hastily con-
structed shanty towns, the workers built the roads to bring in concrete and pipes,
dug tunnels to divert the river, and even built manufacturing plants to create pipes
and other large materials too big to transport. The housing they built for them-
selves eventually became Boulder City, a wholly government-owned enterprise.
And construction crews weren't the only vital elements. Artists and architects
were hired to frame the project in the popular 1930s Art Deco style. From the 4-
ton
Wings of the Republic
statues to the star map indicating the location of the
planets when the dam was dedicated, to the terrazzo tile in and around the plant,
the dam has always been as much a work of art as a thick slab of concrete.
I highly recommend taking the
Discovery Tour
(
%
866/730-9097;
$
11 adults,
$
9 seniors 62 and U.S. military and dependents,
$
6 kids ages 7-16, free for kids
6 and under; tours offered 9am-6pm, with ticket sales until 5:15pm)
when you
visit, as it gives visitors a much more concrete understanding of the Dam's place
in history, its engineering advances, and its importance. But please note that it's
not recommended for people with claustrophobia, pacemakers, or defibrillators.
That's for good reason. It takes you into the belly of the earth, down more than
500 feet into the ground, where you walk through tunnels of exposed rocks eerily
dripping with water. You end up in a room where you can actually feel the rum-
bling of 80,000 gallons of water per second rush in a pipe right below you. If you
opt for the tour, arrive early. They last about an hour and begin every 15 minutes,
but the tour center gets crowded as the day progresses.
