Our road trip continues!
After we left Williams, AZ, we headed to… THE HOOVER DAM! Now I really feel like this is National Lampoon’s Vacation.
The Hoover Dam was built between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression. It was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. It cost $49 million to build back then in 1931, which is about $675 million in today’s money.
The Hoover Dam is a type of concrete arch-gravity dam and holds back Lake Mead, providing hydroelectric power to millions of people in the area. It’s possible to tour the power plant below, but it was closed due to the pandemic.
It’s a looong way down this dam! I’m looking over the edge – don’t let me go, mom!
Here is the official plaque. It used to be named the Boulder Dam but was renamed to the Hoover Dam after President Herbert Hoover in 1947.
And just across the way is the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge which was more recently built in 2010.
Mike O’Callaghan was a former governor of Nevada, and Pat Tillman was a former NFL player who served in the U.S. Army and gave the ultimate sacrifice.
The construction of the dam was such a significant milestone, as such a large concrete structure had never been built before. The work was dangerous and an estimated 112 people lost their lives while building it. Here is a memorial for all the brave workers who died.
