The water turns 17 hydraulic turbines, which then rotate a series of electric generators. As the water reaches the blockade, it falls 500 feet through pipes to a hydroelectric power plant at the base. The river backed up by the dam creates Lake Mead, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. The base marks the day the Hoover Dam was dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt, September 30, 1935. The two are now weathered with a green patina, except where visitors follow the tradition of rubbing their feet for good luck.Ī celestial chart embedded in the terrazzo floor surrounds the monument’s ceremonial area. Sculptor Oskar Hansen created them with more than four tons of statuary bronze. At its top, Hoover Dam is nearly as wide as a four-lane highway.”Īll visitors notice the 30-foot high Art Deco statues, known as the “Winged Figures of the Republic.” The pair resemble seated humans with sharp, angular features and wings that soar straight toward the sky. According to some online research, “At its base, the Dam is a whopping 660 feet thick, about two football fields stretched end-to-end. The dam measures 726 feet tall and 1,244 feet long, almost a quarter of a mile. I glanced up at tilted transmission towers supported by massive braces and down at the immense, rounded curtain of concrete. Everything about the place feels supersized. The sight of the complex staggered my mind. Over the years, some 21,000 workers contributed to the overall construction. Imagine working in sweltering heat to bore into carbon monoxide-choked tunnels or dangling from heights of 800 feet to clear canyon walls. Ninety-six workers lost their lives in accidents, but no one was buried alive while pouring the 6.6 million yards of needed concrete. Most importantly, the dam would provide massive amounts of hydroelectric power. The goal was to help control flooding of the Colorado River and to divert water where needed. Hoover Dam was built between 1930 –1936 in a wasteland, a forbidding dry, rocky desert. I walked down the promenade toward the dam, reading the signage and photographing as I went along. National Monument doesn’t require more than a half-day (even including a tunnel tour) and much less if you are in a hurry. I understood the Hoover Dam Visitor Center was closed (due to Covid), as were tours inside the tunnels, but that didn’t stop me.
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