8 Rare Photos Take During The Hoover Dam Construction That Will Simply Astound You
By Monica Spencer|Published February 27, 2018
×
Monica Spencer
Author
Monica is a Diné (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tódich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. You can reach her at monica.d.spencer@gmail.com.
Did you know Arizona is home to some impressive engineering marvels? That’s right! Our bridges, canals, buildings and other structures are among some of the most innovative engineering projects for their day. One such place? Hoover Dam.
Construction on Hoover Dam began in 1931 to control the flow of the Colorado River and to provide a source of hydroelectric power for Arizona, California and Nevada. Construction finished in 1936 and since then, it has become a major tourist attraction for the area for the beauty of the dam’s engineering and for containing the country’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead. I think most of us have visited the dam at least once in our lives—and for those of us old enough to remember—even slowly drove over the top of the dam on U.S. 93. Let’s take a look at what construction of this marvel looked like!
Let’s start by checking out the area before construction began. This area is Black Canyon (though not the same as the Black Canyon in central Arizona) and was one of the last areas considered for the project. Initially, an area called Boulder Canyon was considered but fault lines caused those plans to be changed. The name, Boulder Dam, stuck for some time.
The team on the jumbo drilling rig poses for a photo amidst construction. The rig was built on a 10-ton truck and enabled up to 30 drills to operate at the same time!
These two photos show another view of the dam (top) in the middle of pouring concrete in 1934 and workers scaling the dam walls for drilling and installation (bottom). Those were some brave souls!
Did you know President Franklin Delano Roosevelt toured construction of the dam? This photo was shot on September 30, 1935 as he drove through one of the pipes.
