Features | American Experience | Official Site

Hoover Dam | Clip

Building Diversion Tunnels

The most dangerous phase of Hoover Dam's construction was building the diversion tunnels.

Hoover Dam | Clip

The Government's Plan

Building the 700 foot high dam was only one piece of the puzzle.

Hoover Dam | Clip

Rerouting the Colorado River

Workers moved the Colorado River from the bed it had known for 12 million years.

Hoover Dam | Article

Hiring African Americans

The start of construction on Hoover in 1930 held the promise of employment for thousands of workers in the Las Vegas area.

Hoover Dam | Article

Building Boulder City

Boulder City was essentially a government reservation, constructed under the jurisdiction of the Reclamation Service.

Hoover Dam | Article

Chief engineer: Frank Crowe

Frank Crowe had a motto: Never my belly to a desk.

Hoover Dam | Article

Harold Ickes

A self-described “old curmudgeon,” Harold Ickes next turned his sights on Six Companies’ management practices at the dam.

Hoover Dam | Article

The Men of Six Companies

The coming together of what became Six Companies is a story of the melding of ambitions of maverick individuals, each driven by a desire to transform the emerging West.

Hoover Dam | Article

Gordon Kaufman

In envisioning the architectural presentation of the dam, its designers wanted to make an impression of technological supremacy. To accomplish this task they turned to Gordon Kaufmann.

Hoover Dam | Article

Walker "Brig" Young

Leading the team of surveyors within the Reclamation Bureau was a small, bespectacled man named Walker “Brig” Young.

Hoover Dam | Article

President Herbert Hoover

After considering the concerns of all interested parties for the fair distribution of water for the seven states, Secretary Hoover drafted the Colorado River Compact.

Ansel Adams | Article

Ansel Adams (1902-1984)

Adams was a very active child, and felt restricted in school, which he found meaningless. When he was 13, his father began to tutor him at home.