After Las Vegas we slept in Boulder, the city that was built in the 1930's to accomodate the people involved in the building of the Hoover dam. We visited the dam before going to Death Valley.
The dam and it's buildings were much more interesting then we thought they would be.
First because the project took place during the Art Deco period - architects and builders of that period made beautiful buildings, with an expert eye to details.
Second because walking around we learned a lot about this immense project.
A Grand Travail if there ever was one, and this during the Great Depression!
We bought a booklet about the construction of the dam and that's great reading.
They started by building a complete infrastructure: highways, railways, the works.
Then what is now Boulder city, with airco housing for the workmen.
Before doing anything else they had workmen (the 'scalers') abseiling from the rocks where the dam would come to chip off loose rock. That had to be collected and carted off. Things like that.
And the detailling of seemingly unimported things like railings and doorknobs! (all in shiny brass, btw).
Plus of course all the commemorative plaques for everyone involved, in lovely old fashioned, a little pompous writing ('they died to make the desert bloom').
Anyway, if your interested in this kind of mega projects you should google and read about it, it is ever so interesting!
The dam and it's buildings were much more interesting then we thought they would be.
First because the project took place during the Art Deco period - architects and builders of that period made beautiful buildings, with an expert eye to details.
Second because walking around we learned a lot about this immense project.
A Grand Travail if there ever was one, and this during the Great Depression!
We bought a booklet about the construction of the dam and that's great reading.
They started by building a complete infrastructure: highways, railways, the works.
Then what is now Boulder city, with airco housing for the workmen.
Before doing anything else they had workmen (the 'scalers') abseiling from the rocks where the dam would come to chip off loose rock. That had to be collected and carted off. Things like that.
And the detailling of seemingly unimported things like railings and doorknobs! (all in shiny brass, btw).
Plus of course all the commemorative plaques for everyone involved, in lovely old fashioned, a little pompous writing ('they died to make the desert bloom').
Anyway, if your interested in this kind of mega projects you should google and read about it, it is ever so interesting!
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