A magnificent wonder of massive cubic yards of concrete. Built during the Great Depression between 1931 and 1936, its construction led to great hope during these troubled times by creating thousands of jobs for people. As times were difficult jobs were scarce as was food.
The federal government created a town known as Boulder City for workers of the Dam and their families to live in to be close by, making it that much easier for them. However, it’s stated that an employee of the agency or firm for the project of the Dam oversaw the residency of Boulder City and had the power to evict people as he saw fit, so not only were you evicted but chances are, you lost your job too. Alcohol and Gambling were also outlawed in Boulder City.
Architects of the Dam were Henry J. Kaiser and Gordon Kaufman. Hoover Dam was originally named Boulder Dam but later changed by Congress and renamed after our 31st President Herbert Hoover, because it was during this time Hoover was in the presidency.
The Hoover Dam is 726 Feet High with 4,400,000 cubic yards of concrete and 1,244 feet long. It’s estimated that the cost to build the Dam was $140 million to build and took 50 yrs to repay the mortgage loan from the U.S. Treasury. A repayment of $5.4 million a yr with 3% interest from residential and industrial users by way of their monthly electric bills. That bill or debt has now been paid in full according to records.
There were fatalities during the construction of the site and a collapse, and it was recorded that some 34 workers were trapped and 8 workers died. Out of the 8 deceased, 2 bodies were later recovered and the remaining 6 are still entombed within the Dam. To date, many fatalities have been recorded due to suicide, drownings, motor vehicle accidents, and during construction of the Dam itself. Aside from the dark side of things, the Hoover Dam is a mighty wonder to stop by and visit.
