Machine-Age Iconography in the American West: The Design of Hoover Dam

Author(s): Richard Guy Wilson

Source: Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 54, No. 4, Architecture and the American West (Nov.,
1985), pp. 463-493
Published by: University of California Press
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Machine-Age
Iconography
intheAmericanWest:
The DesignofHooverDam
Richard Guy Wilson

The authoris a member

oftheschoolofarchitecture
in theUni-
versity
ofVirginia.

IN THE 1930s and 1940s the massive concrete,multipurpose

dam emerged as one of the most distinctivemodern American
structures.Scholars have tended to view greatdams like Hoover
in the Southwest,Shasta in northernCalifornia,Grand Coulee
and Bonnevillein the Northwest,and the Tennessee ValleyAu-
thoritydams in the Southeast frompolitical,economic,and nat-
ural-resource development perspectives. Constructed in the
Westbythe Bureau of Reclamationand the ArmyCorps ofEngi-
neers,and in the East by the TVA, these dams were productsof
endless political negotiations and bureaucratic maneuvering.
The greatdams and manysmallerones transformedvastareas of
the continent,tamed riversand preventedfloods,providednew
water transportationroutes, stored water for irrigationand
drinking,created new agriculturalland, generatedelectricityfor
industryand home, and substantiallychanged the livingstan-
dards of millionsof Americans.The political,economic,and so-

Some of the research for thisarticlewas done under a National Endowment forthe
Humanitiesgrantto the BrooklynMuseum foran exhibitiontitled"Machine Age Amer-
ica" thatwillbe seen in 1986-1987 in Brooklyn,Chicago, Los Angeles,and Pittsburgh.
For assistancein researchI wishto thankVirginiaFentonof Boulder City,Nevada; Julian
Rhinehart,Public AffairsOfficer,and his staffof the Lower Colorado Regional Office,
Bureau of Reclamation,Boulder City,Nevada; and the staffof the Engineeringand Re-
searchCenter,Bureau of Reclamation,Denver,Colorado.

463
PacificHistoricalReview 1985,bythe PacificCoast Branch,
AmericanHistoricalAssociation

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 ? . ??
...i

Figure 1 Hoover Dam, downstreamface

byBen Glaha
Photograph ofU.S BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

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 HooverDam 465

cial backgroundsand consequencesof these dams has been thor-

oughlyinvestigated.But as worksof architectureand as symbols
of American modernismtheyhave not yetreceived substantial
scholarlyattention.'
At the timeofconstruction,especiallyin the 1930s,large mul-
tipurpose concrete dams and earth-filldams were widely re-
garded as prime symbolsof American ingenuity,prowess,and
modernity.A photographbyMargaretBourke-Whiteofspillway
gate constructionat the Fort Peck Dam in Montana graced the
firstcover Life Magazine in 1936. Dams caught the American
imaginationbecause theyrepresentedworkfora depression-af-
fected economy and the benevolent aspects of governmental
planning.The dams suggestedthatman could alterand control
his environment;theyalso signifiedthe comingof age of a new
source of power-hydroelectricity. Yetthe dams were more than
functionalstructures.They were symbolsthat observersstrug-
gled to understand.In 1935, as constructionneared completion,
journalistTheodore Whitestood on the rimofthe Black Canyon
and pondered Hoover Dam: "It is a beautifultantalizingthing.It
is complex. It has a meaning,not to be grasped in weeks,or per-
haps years.It is subtle,sometimescruellyobvious."2

1The extensivepolitical and reclamationhistorywillbe cited in footnotesbelow. On

scholarlyattentionto the design of dams, see Carl Condit, AmericanBuildingArt: The
Twentieth Century (New York,1961),219- 273; and Marian Moffettand Lawrence Wode-
house,BuiltforthePeopleoftheUnitedStates:FiftyYearsofTVAArchitecture (Knoxville,1983).
The lattercontainsessaysbyWilliamJordyand WalterCreese, both ofwhomare prepar-
ing longer studieson the architectureand design of TVA. See also myearlier articleon
Hoover Dam, "Massive Deco Monument,"Architecture, LXXII (Dec. 1983), 45- 47, which
containsa preliminaryassessmentofthe visualcharacterofthe dam.
2Selectedcommentaryincludes: "Powerand Industry,"Progressive XXXII
Architecture,
(Nov. 1951), 56-62; "The Dam," Fortune,VIII (Sept. 1933), 74-88; "Remaking the
World,"Collier's,XCV (March 16, 1935),60; "Boulder Dam: EngineeringTriumph,"Liter-
aryDigest,CXXII (Oct. 17, 1935), 19-20; Mildred Adams,"Taming the Untamable at
Boulder Dam," New YorkTimesMagazine(Feb. 24, 1935), 5, 19; editorial,New YorkTimes,
Record,LXXVII (June 1935),
Dec. 7, 1935, p. 16; "Portfolioof PublicWorks,"Architectural
340- 341; "UndertakingswithoutPrecedent,"Engineering News-Record, CXIII (Nov. 29,
1934), 675-677; WalterK. M. Slavif,"Monumentsto the Living,"Reclamation Era, XXX
(Feb. 1940),42- 43. On the TVA, see, forexample,"Tennessee ValleyAuthority," Architec-
turalForum,LXXI (Aug. 1939), 73-114; Talbot Faulkner Hamlin,"Architectureof the
TVA," PencilPoints,XX (Nov. 1939), 720- 731; Life I (Nov. 23, 1936), frontcover; Theo-
dore White,"Buildingthe Big Dam," Harper's, CLXXI (June 1935), 120.

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466 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

White's attemptto understand Hoover Dam echoed Henry

Adams'seffortthree decades earlier to understandwhat Adams
consideredto be the primesymbolof the twentiethcentury,the
dynamo,"a symbolof infinity." Adams tried to understand the
dynamo,but ultimatelyconcluded that it was "silentand infi-
nite."White reached a similarconclusion about Hoover Dam as
he watchedthe sun go down over itswall.
I stayon,fascinated.I stareat thethingtrying tocomprehend it,tofix
itforeverinmind'seye.I havebeeninspiredand provoked intheweeks
I havetriedtoknowit.Andnow,themindsthatinvented it,thebodies
thatare buildingit,thecomplexity and spiritofit,theloveofitwhich
menfeel-all, allofitbewilders me.3
Of the several large and impressiveconcrete dams of the
1930s,the firstand the most famousis Hoover Dam constructed
between 1931 and 1936 on the Colorado RiverbetweenArizona
and Nevada. (Begun as Hoover Dam, the name was changed to
Boulder Dam in 1933 when Rooseveltenteredthe White House;
the name was changed back to Hoover Dam in 1947). Stillone of
the largestdams,the impactof Hoover Dam is overpowering.A
massivewallofconcrete-a large,seeminglyplasticconcavemass
wedged betweentwonearlysheercanyonwalls-holds back Lake
Mead and twelvetrilliongallonsor 28,537,000 acre-feetofwater
thatstretchesfor115 milesup the Colorado River.A greatfunc-
tional structureresultingfromthe precise calculationsof engi-
neers,the dam is also a superblydesigned and consciousworkof
architecturethat takes advantage of everypossibilityto make a
statement.It is one ofthe greatdesignsofthe 1930s,a truearchi-
tecturallandmark,that also spurred manyof the public works
programsof the Depression. The full storyof Hoover Dam in-
volvesmanythousandsofindividualsand manyyearsofevolving
ideas and political decisions. Hoover Dam-like all dams-can
be considered fromthe standpointof its function,its construc-
tionand engineering,and itsarchitecturaldesign.It mayalso be
understoodas a symbol.Hoover Dam is a modernworkof archi-
tecture that contains several key themes of modernism: effi-
ciency,the utilizationofadvanced technology,the use ofabstract

3Henry Adams, The Educationof HenryAdams(1918; New York, 1931), 380; White,
"Buildingthe Big Dam," 121.

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 HooverDam 467

and ahistoricalimages,and the emphasison beneficialresults.As

a self-consciously
modernstructurethe dam illuminatessome of
the themesofand mythsabout Americanmodernism.4
Hoover Dam is located in whatstillmustbe consideredone of
the most inhospitablepartsof the globe. Sited in the Black Can-
yonarea of the Colorado RiverbetweenNevada and Arizona,its
surroundingshave not changed much. Desert sand and volcanic
rock predominate.The littlevegetationconsistsof greasewood.
Rattlesnakescoexistwithgroundanimals.In the late 1920swhen
the decision was made to locate the dam at Black Canyon,the

4Determiningthe size and relativerankingofdams is tricky, sincetheycan be classified

in manyways.At the timeofitscompletionin 1936 Hoover Dam was the tallestdam in the
world,had the greatestpowercapacity,and the largestreservoir.Today it has been sur-
passed in all categories.For the general historyof dams,see Norman Smith,A History of
Dams (London, 1971); Allen H. Cullen, Riversin Harness:The StoryofDams (Phildelphia,
1962);JulianHinds,"ContinuousDevelopmentofDams Since 1850,"Paper No. 2605, and
K. B. Keener,"Dams Then and Now,"Paper No. 2606, in Transactions oftheAmerican Society
ofCivilEngineers, CI (1953), 489- 535. See also T. W. Mermel,Register ofDamsin theUnited
States(New York,1958).
The fullstoryof Hoover Dam has notbeen written.Between 1938 and 1950 the Bureau
ofReclamationissueda seriesofbulletinsrecordingsome ofthedam'shistory, design,and
technicalfeatureswhichhave providedinformationforthisstudy.See U.S. Dept. of the
Interior,Bureau of Reclamation,BoulderCanyonProject,Final Reports(7 parts,Boulder
City,Nev.; Washington,D.C.; and Denver,Colo., 1938-1950). The bureau's magazine,
Reclamation Era, providesinformationforthe 1930s. See also T. H. Watkins,"Conquestof
the Colorado," Idaho Yesterdays, VI (April 1969),4- 9, 48, 60. Participants'viewpointsand
local historycan be found in Dennis McBride, In theBeginning... (Boulder City,1981);
Marion V. Allen,HooverDam and BoulderCity(Redding,Calif.,1983); Angela Brookerand
Dennis McBride,BoulderCity:Passagesin Time(Boulder City,1981); and WilliamJ. Wil-
liams,"The Town ... That Built ... the Dam," Reclamation Era, LXVI (Spring- Summer
1981), 1-10. Because of charges that there was excessiveovertime,the Six Companies
commissionedGeorge A. Pettittto writeSo BoulderDam wasBuilt(Berkeley,1935) which
containsvaluable informationon construction.A shortpopularhistoryis U.S. Dept. ofthe
Interior,Bureau of Reclamation,The StoryofHooverDam (Washington,D.C., 1976). The
BechtelCompanyhas produced a video movie; TheTamingofBlackCanyon(San Francisco,
[c. 1979]). Anotherfilmis the Bureau of Reclamation'sTheStoryofHooverDam (Washing-
ton D.C., 1960). On the politicalcontext,see Alfred R. Golze, Reclamationin theUnited
States(Caldwell, Idaho, 1961); Paul L. Kleinsorge, The BoulderCanyonProject:Historical
and EconomicAspects (Palo Alto, 1941); NorrisHundley,jr., Waterand theWest:TheColorado
RiverCompactand thePoliticsofWaterin theAmericanWest (Berkeley,1975); Hundley,Divid-
ingtheWaters: A Century ofControversy between theUnitedStatesand Mexico(Berkeley,1966);
LindaJ.Lear,"The BoulderCanyonProject:A Re-examinationof Federal ResourceMan-
agement,"Materialsand Society, VII (1983), 329- 337; Lear,"Boulder Dam: A Crossroad in
National Resource Policy,"Journal oftheWest(forthcoming);and Remi Nadeau, The Water
Seekers(New York,1950). Froma popular pointofview,Hoover Dam has been considered
by David O. Woodbury,The ColoradoConquest(New York, 1941); and FrankWaters,The
Colorado(New York, 1946). Among other places, archival materialsare located at the
Bureau of Reclamationofficesin Denver and Boulder City,the Boulder City Public Li-
brary,and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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468 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

nearesttownwas Las Vegas,thirtymilesaway.Then a ramshackle

community,Las Vegas served primarilyas a junction for the
Union PacificRailroad. The nearestelectricpower sourcewas in
San Bernardino,California, 222 miles away across the desert.
Housing for the 5,000-person work force needed to construct
the dam was nonexistent.The result was the constructionof
Boulder City,a model townfor6,000 laid out bythe government
and located about eightmilesfromthe damsite.5
The reason forlocatingthe dam at sucha sitewas the necessity
of controllingthe Colorado River which drains riversof seven
westernstates.Everyyear,despiteleveesand canals,the Colorado
Riverwouldoverflowitsbanks,sometimescausingseveredamage
as withtheoverflowof 1905-1907 thatcreatedthe SaltonSea and
the 1916inundationof the Yuma Valley.Floodingwouldoccur in
late springor earlysummer;yetby late summer,fall,and winter,
whenthe Imperial,Coachella,and Yuma valleysneeded water,the
Colorado Riverwas dryor nearlyso. A controlledrivercould also
serveas a transportationlinkforthese areas ofthe Southwest.Fi-
nally,theexpandingpopulationofsouthernCalifornia-Los An-
geles in particular-badlyneeded waterto survive.6
Plans forharnessingthe Colorado Riverreceivedmajor impe-
tus with the establishmentin 1902 of the Reclamation Service
(later renamed the Bureau of Reclamation) under President
Theodore Roosevelt.Charged withdevelopingagriculturalland
in the West,the Reclamation Service focused on the Colorado
Riverand bytheearly1920sitsgeologistsand engineershad con-
cluded thatthe Black Canyon area was the best site forthe first
major dam on the Colorado. Other smaller dams-the Parker,
Davis, and Imperial dams-would followin a fewyears.Political
squabbles among the neighboring western states over water
rightscontinuedthroughthe 1920s, but by late 1928 Congress

5S.R. De Boer,a cityplanner,laid out the townof Boulder Cityin 1930-1931. See S. R.
De Boer,"The Plan ofBoulder City,"ArchitecturalRecord, LXXIII (March 1933), 154-158.
See also "GovernmentPlans Model Town at Boulder City,Nevada,"NewReclamation Era,
XXII (Feb. 1931),28- 30, 41; and "Boulder City--Government'sModel Town to Rise on
the Nevada Desert,"American City,VII (March 1931),16-19. In execution,De Boer's plans
were significantlymodified. See Imre Sutton,"Geographical Aspects of Construction
Planning: Hoover Dam Revisited,"Journal oftheWest, VII (1968), 301- 344.
6U.S.Bureau ofReclamation,FinalReports, PartI -Introductory, BulletinI,GeneralHistory
ofProject(Boulder City,1948),22- 42.
and Description

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 HooverDam 469

passed a billauthorizingthe dam and PresidentCalvin Coolidge

signed it into law on December 21. Constructionof the dam
might have languished for several years except that Herbert
Hoover,a professionalengineerwho had been SecretaryofCom-
merce under Coolidge and had stronglysupportedthe idea of a
dam,now occupied the White House. By 1930 PresidentHoover
could foreseethe generaloutlinesof depressionand unemploy-
ment. Consequently, in 1930, a large appropriation bill was
pushed throughCongressforthe dam'sconstructionand prelim-
inary site work by the government.Designs and specifications
were hurriedlydrawnup byDecember 1930; in March 1931 bids
wereopened forconstruction.7
The intentionwas to constructa large concretedam at Black
Canyon that would be capable of containingin reservoirabout
30,000,000 acre-feetofwater,the equivalentoftwoyearsof nor-
mal Colorado Riverflow.The engineeringdesignofthe dam had
begun back in the 1920s withsite investigationsand a series of
testmodels. Graduallya consensus emerged among the Bureau
of Reclamation's engineers that of the various possible dam
types-including earthfill,rock fill,and straightgravitydams-
a concrete,arch-gravitydam would be best. Since concreteworks
betterunder compressionthan in tension,a wedge-shapedform
had to be devised thatwas thickerat the bottomthan at the top
and whichwas convexon the reservoirside so thatthe structure
would carrythe stressor waterweightbyarch actionto the abut-
tingcanyonwalls and downwardto the canyon floor. Between
1928 and 1931 extensivetestsof models were carried out at the
Denver laboratoriesof the ReclamationBureau. These testsre-
vealed thatincreasingthe thicknessof the dam at the top would
also increasethe horizontaltension,an effectto be avoided.Tests
were also conducted on other partsof the dam'sdesign to obtain
the bestprofileformaximumvelocityand minimumturbulence.
This technical engineeringdesign (figure 2), which opened to
bids in December 1930 and then was modified and finallyap-
proved by the Colorado River Board on November 19, 1932,

7WilliamE. Warne, TheBureau ofReclamation(New York,1973) providesa general his-

PartI-Intro-
toryofthe reclamationprogram;U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,FinalReports,
52, 54- 56.
ductory,

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470 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

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Figure 2 Hoover Dam, plan and section
CourtesyofU.S.BureauofReclamation

called for a massive concrete structurerising 726.4 feet from

bedrockwitha base thicknessof 660 feetand a crestthicknessof
45 feet,wide enough for four lanes of trafficand pedestrians.
The crestlengthof 1,244 feetis nearlya quartermile long,while
the arch on axis has a radius of 500 feet.
Essentiallythe staggeringconstructionplan involveddiverting
the Colorado River throughtunnels drilled in the solid rock
wallsof the canyon,buildingtemporarycofferdamsto block the
river,excavatingthe site, and then constructingthe dam and
power plant. This process translatedinto constructionof four
diversiontunnels fifty-six feet in diameter and three miles in
length,excavationof more than 5.5 millioncubic yards of rock
and gravel,and the placementof about 5 millionbarrelsof con-
crete.Two concretebatchplantswerebroughtin along witheight
steamlocomotives.The concretepresentedspecial difficulties. If
it was simplypoured and leftto harden naturally,it would have

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 HooverDam 471

taken about a centuryto cool and the shrinkagewould have

cracked the dam and leftit unusable. The solutionwas to circu-
late refrigeratedwaterthroughtubingplaced in thewetconcrete
whichcooled each pour in seventy-two hours.Groutingwas then
pressureinjected into the space resultingfromthe contraction.
The concretewas poured in blocks measuringfivefeetthickand
betweentwenty-five and sixtyfeetsquare. Each block ofconcrete
was notched or keyedto the surroundingblocks whichbecame
concretecolumns as new pours were added. A monolithiccon-
cretemass resulted.A "zipper"or eight-footslot forthe refriger-
ation pipes remained at the center of the dam as construction
climbed upward. This was the last column to be poured. The
concrete,composed ofcement,water,and aggregate,was rigidly
controlled.The oftentold tale ofworkersburied in the concrete
duringconstructionis apocryphal;the tolerancesofthe concrete
could neverstand such a messywater-filled object.8
Fundamentalto anyworkof architectureis the processofcon-
struction,the puttingtogetherof various materialsto build the
design.While in mostconsiderationsof architecturethisprocess
is ignored,some referencemustbe made to the actual construc-
tionof Hoover Dam. Initiallythe governmentestimatedthe dam
would take seven yearsto construct;it was finishedin fiveyears.
The dam's builders were a consortiumof contractorsknown as
Six Companies Inc., consistingof the Utah ConstructionCom-
pany,the Pacific Bridge Company,the MacDonald and Kahn
Company,the Morrison-KnudsenCompany,theJ.F Shea Com-
pany,and the combined W.A. Bechtel and HenryJ.Kaiser com-
panies. The generalsuperintendentforthe Six Companies was a
formerBureau of Reclamation and a Morrison-Knudsencon-
structionengineer,FrankT. Crowe,who had supervisedseveral
earlierlarge dam constructionjobs in the West.A legendaryfig-
ure in his own right,Crowe was known as a man of action who
wasted littletimeon paperworkand knew intimatelythejob of
everyone ofthe 5,000 men under his direction.9

8This tale has become folklorein the West. I rememberhearing it as a child in Los
Angeles and guides todayat the dam repeat the tale. While many individualsdid lose
theirlives,none wereburied in the concrete.
'A popular historyofconstructioncompanies is Neill C. Wilsonand FrankJ.Taylor,The
EarthChangers(New York,1957). Some historycan also be foundin Paul D. Nations,ed.,

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 Ail
Ari
41'

Figure 3 Highlinersat workon the canyonwall

byBen Glaha
Photograph CourtesyofU.S.BureauofReclamation

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 HooverDam 473

The size and scale of the undertakingalong withthe human

effortinvolvedin the projectquicklyassumed heroicdimensions.
It was a major organizational undertakingto supervise at the
height of constructionseveral thousand men crammed into a
canyonof less than 4,500 square feet.Men and equipmentwork-
ing on top ofeach other in the narrowgorge made the construc-
tionofthe dam one ofthe greatattractionsofthe day.Initiallythe
insurance companies for the job estimated that over 200 men
would lose theirlivesin the firstyearofconstruction;the actual
loss for the entire project was ninety-six.Labor problems
plagued the project in its early stages,especiallyconcernsover
workingconditionsand wages. A strikeduring August 1931 re-
sulted in improvedworkingand livingconditions.Certainlythe
circumstancesof workingon the dam were daunting: summer
temperaturesat the canyonrimcould hit 126 degrees and over
140 degrees in the bottomofthe gorge and in the diversiontun-
nels. Strongwinterwindscould come at anytimeand cause tem-
peratures to plummetbelow zero. The Colorado River,always
dangerous,was a constantworryas it triedto break throughthe
temporarycofferdamsand flood the entireproject.The heroic
qualitiesof the "constructionstiff,"as the presstermeditinerant
workerson the project,wereplayedup bywriters.One journalist
for the New YorkTimesMagazine,reflectingon the use of ma-
chines,regarded constructionat the dam as "Pioneeringof the
Machine Age."'o
The actual buildingof the dam reenforcedthe heroic dimen-
sionsofthe project.Black and whitephotographsrecordsome of

RiverTamers(Boise, Idaho, 1947); "50 Years of ConstructionProgress,"Em-Kayan,XXI

(1962), 1- 36; "'The Earth Movers':The Epic of the Six Companies ofthe West,"Fortune,
XXVIII (Aug. 1943), 99-107, 210-214; and "Memoir No. (1818) Francis Trenholm
Crowe, Hon. M. ASCE," Transactions oftheAmericanSociety ofCivilEngineers, CXI (June,
1946), 1- 7.
1oGuyLouis Rocha, "The IWW and the Boulder Canyon Project: The Final Death
Throes of American Syndicalism,"Nevada HistoricalSociety XXI (1978), 2-24;
Quarterly,
Edmund Wilson,"Hoover Dam," NewRepublic,LXVIII (Sept. 2, 1931), 66-69; "Open
Shop at Boulder Dam," ibid.,(June 24, 1931), 147-148; Elwood Mead, "Boulder Dam,"
ibid.,(Aug. 26, 1931),48; "Engineers-Contractors CommitteeFinds Hoover Dam Condi-
tionsSatisfactory,"Reclamation Era, XXIII (Feb. 1932), 32; and Pettitt,So BoulderDamwas
Built,38- 39. See also Roosevelt Fitzgerald,"Blacks and the Boulder Dam Project,"Ne-
vada HistoricalSociety XXIV (1981), 255- 260; "The Dam," Fortune,
Quarterly, 75; Duncan
Aikman, "New Pioneers in the Old West'sDeserts,"New YorkTimesMagazine(Oct. 26,
1930), 7.

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474 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

the story,though the most memorable aspects of construction

were captured throughthe motion-picturefootageshot by Bu-
reau of Reclamation photographer Ben Glaha. Construction
wenton twenty-four hours a day,everyday of the year.At night
the site was brilliantlylighted and strucksome observersas a
movie set. There werelarge machines,some ofthemnew to con-
structionsites: 250-horsepowerMack truckswith sixteen-yard
dump bodies; dinosaur-likecranes,shovels,and draglines;Cater-
pillartractors;"Jumbo"drillingrigs;and the cablewayscarrying
men and equipmentback and forthand up and down thecanyon.
While itseemed as ifa new race ofmechanicalgiantswereinhab-
itingthe earth,a choreographeddance step appeared to control
the actionsof manyof the workersas theyswungdown the can-
yon walls withjack hammersand crow bars to scale away loose
rock. Hand signals would direct the descent of the eight-yard
"Crowe"concretebucketsuntil,when finallyin place, bottomsof
the buckets would open and concrete would rush out to be
tamped and vibrated into place. The result,caught in photo-
graphs,wereconcretecliffs, entirelyabstractin the removalfrom
both a human scale and a functionaldimension. They were
pieces ofa largerwhole,possessingan eternalbeautyand finality
all theirown. These unfinishedformswereone level of the aes-
theticoflarge dams."
The technicaldesign of the dam was largelythe workof the
Denver officeof the Bureau of Reclamation.The individualre-
sponsibleforthe conceptionof the projectin 1902 and directing
the earlyinvestigations was ArthurPowellDavis,a nephewofthe
firstexplorerof the Colorado River,JohnWesleyPowell. Davis
was an engineerand a directorofthe ReclamationServicein the
1910s and 1920s. Although he had leftthe agency in 1923, his

"William H. Gater,comp.,HooverDam IncludingtheStoryoftheTurbulent ColoradoRiver

(Los Angeles, 1932), 14. There were numerousphotographersassociated withthe pro-
ject, but Ben Glaha (1899-1971) stands out as the best. See Ben Glaha, "Boulder Dam:
The PhotographyofEngineeringWorks,"U.S.Camera,I (Jan.- Feb. 1939), 18- 23, 78-79;
"Glaha Complimented,"ReclamationEra, XXV (July 1935), 152; "Photographs Exhib-
ited,"ibid.,(Aug. 1935), 168, and (Sept. 1935), 185; and WillardVan Dyke,"The Workof
Ben Glaha," CameraCraftXLII (April 1935), 166-172. Glaha's workwas exhibited na-
tionwidein 1935 and praised byseveralindividuals,includingAnsel Adams.In 1938 Cliff
Segerblom(1917- ) became theofficialbureau photographerforthe dam and is respon-
sible forthe excellentphotographsof the testof the spillwaysand valve outlet houses.
InterviewwithCliffSegerblom,May 15, 1984.

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 iJ1

Figure 4 Placingconcretein column forms

byBen Glaha
Photograph ofU.S BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

3c1 ?-~_26
~F

Figure 5 Constructionofdam and intaketowers

byBen Glaha
Photograph ofU.S.BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

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476 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

ideas formedthe basis of the design.Elwood Mead, the commis-

sionerofreclamationduringmostofthe constructionperiod and
forwhomLake Mead-the reservoir-was named,approved the
plans.To assignactual responsibilityforthe technicaldesignto an
individualis pointless,however.The chiefengineerwas Raymond
E Walter,whilechiefdesigningengineerwasJohn.L. Savage. Wal-
terR. Youngservedas the BoulderCanyonprojectofficeconstruc-
tionengineerand workedcloselywithFrankCrowe. These indi-
viduals,in turn,superviseda staffof over a hundred engineers
who also had a hand in the technicaldesign.12
Technicaldesignforan engineermeantessentiallyworkingout
plans so a structurecould be built.Visual considerationsdid en-
terintoengineeringdesign,but the primarypurpose was not to
expressbeauty or abstractaesthetics.Rather,it was to create a
functionalstructure.Some modernarchitecturaltheoristsofthe
1920s and 1930s,such as Le Corbusier,foundgreatbeautyin the
designs of engineers,and certainlymuch of the power of the
Hoover Dam formcomes fromengineeringcalculationsand de-
sign.But in additionto the greatconcretewedge such featuresas
the crest,the towers,the bridges,the spillwaygates,the power
house,and the ornamentand color ofthe dam resultedfromself-
consciousaestheticdecisions.13
The design of these featureswhichadded considerablyto the
dam's appearance and symbolicpower was largelythe workof
the project's architecturalconsultant,Gordon B. Kaufmann.
Why Kaufmann was selected forhis post remainsunknown.He
had no prior experience as a dam architectand was generally
knownas an accomplishedresidentialdesignerin southernCali-
forniawherehe workedespeciallyin the SpanishColonial idiom.
There existed,however,in Kaufmann'sbackgroundcertainex-
periences that mighthave influencedhis selection.In 1931, for
instance,he had received the commissionfor the Los Angeles
Times Buildingfromnewspaper publisherHarryChandler who
was also a strongsupporterof the dam. Whetherthis 1931 com-
missionhad any influenceon Kaufmann'sselectionto workon

75.
'2"The Dam," Fortune,
13LeCorbusier,Towardsa NewArchitecture
(1927; New York,1960),33.

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 HooverDam 477

Figure6 Los Angeles Times Building,

1935, Gordon B. Kaufmann,architect
CourtesyofLosAngelesTimes,Inc.

the dam is unknown,but itis significantthatthe Bureau ofRecla-

mation looked to Los Angeles for an architectrather than to
theirDenver home officeor elsewhere.14
Gordon Kaufmann (1888-1949) was born in London of a
Scottishmother and German father.He attended the London
Polytechnicand Royal College of Art beforebeing apprenticed
to a London architect.Apparently,he wentto Germanyto work
for a shorttime in an architect'sofficebefore immigratingto
Canada and workingthere forthreeyears.In 1913 as a resultof
hiswife'spoor health,he wentto southernCalifornia.By 1916he
was associated with Reginald Johnson and Roland E. Coate,

14Information on Kaufmann is scanty.See Alson Clark, "The 'Californian'Architec-

tureofGordon B. Kaufmann,"Society ofArchitectural Southern
Historians, CaliforniaChapter
Review,I (Summer 1982), 1- 8; Joseph Giovannini,"Gordon Kaufmann" in Baxter Art
Gallery,California Instituteof Technology,Caltech1910-1950: An UrbanArchitecture for
SouthernCalifornia(Pasadena, 1983),"Gordon B. Kaufmann: Obituary,"Southwest Builder
and Contractor,
March 4, 1949, p. 7; Los AngelesTimes,March 2, 1949, part 2, p. 1; and
HarrisC. Allen,"It Can Happen Here: A Classical Scholar Learns a Modern Language,"
Architect
and Engineer, CXXIX (May 1937), 13- 34. Additionalbiographicalinformation
on Kaufmann can be foundin his application fora fellowshipfromthe American Insti-
tuteof Architectsin the AIA Archives,Washington,D.C.

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478 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

suave designers in the Spanish Colonial Revival. Kaufmann

struckout on hisown in 1924 and designed a seriesof hotelsand
houses that,while reflectingthe "period" styles,were extremely
simplified.By the early 1930s his workhad become more overtly
"ArtDeco" as in the Los Angeles Times Building (1931-1935)
with its plastic set-backprofile,strip pier buttresses,and low-
relief,neoclassical semicubisticsculpture.Other workby Kauf-
mann throughthisperiod and later in the 1930s showed an in-
creasing simplificationof design and adoption of modernistic
stylisticimages, while still retainingvestigesof ornament and
plasticmodeling.15
The choice of Kaufmannas the architecturalconsultantwas in
retrospectexcellent.He was willingto conformto the dictatesof
the technicaldesign.As he wrote,the dam was the "resultof pure
engineering"and his "architecturefollowed the structuralde-
sign,and itwas consideredas a complementarytreatmentrather
than a dominantphase ofthe whole design."He was accustomed
to molding broad plastic surfaces. In a sense this was his ap-
proach to the various appurtenances of the dam, integrating
themintothe whole and emphasizingthe plasticqualitiesofcon-
crete.As Kaufmannexplained in an article:
Therewasneveranydesireor attempt tocreatean architectural
effect
orstyle,butrathertotakeeachproblemand integrate ittothewholein
ordertosecurea system ofplainsurfacesrelievedbyshadowshereand
therewheretheplanor requirements suggested.
Kaufmann,in otherwords,was not a radical modernistsubscrib-
ing to the dictatesof the InternationalStyle(as itwas christened
in February1932),but he obviouslyknewenough about modern-
ism to clean up the engineers'retardataire
design.16
Kaufmann drew on severalmodernistsourcesforinspiration.
Los Angeles had some of the country'smost avant-gardearchi-
tectsled by Rudolph Schindlerand Richard Neutra.Neutra had
in factworkedforKaufmannbrieflyin 1925. By the early 1930s
severalofthe leadingAmericanarchitectural journals wereshow-

15In particularthereis the San Pedro High School, 1935-1937; the Federal Building,
Long Beach, 1932; and the Royal Laundry,Pasadena, 1927, and 1935 (all in California)
and the SalisburyBuilding,Salt Lake City,Utah, 1936.
16GordonB. Kaufmann,"The Architectureof Boulder Dam," Architectural Concrete,
II,
No. 3 (1936), 3. See also WesleyR. Nelson, "OrnamentalFeaturesof Boulder Dam," Com-
pressedAirMagazine,XLIII (June 1938),5615- 5620.

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 HooverDam 479

ing with great regularitymodern architecture,both European

and American.Kaufmann'sworkat Hoover Dam reflectedother
modernistsourcesas well.Dams had appeared in TonyGarnier's
UneCitiIndustrielle (1901-1917) and in the 1912-1916 drawings
of ItalianFuturistAntonioSant' Elia. Garnier'sdam appeared in a
distantpanoramicviewas a largecliff-like concretestructurewith
predominantverticalbuttresses molded into the dam face and
witha powerhouse standingat the bottom.Since no detailswere
shown,the overallimpressionwas of a large monolithicconcrete
mass. Sant' Elia had projectedseveralcentralpowerstationsthat
bore similaritiesto dams. But Sant' Elia's drawings generally
lackeda contextand sense of how the buildingsweresupposed to
function.His drawingsglorifiedthe mechanicalpartsas abstract
objects; their stepped-backand molded charactersperhaps in-
fluenced modernistmassing of conventionsof the 1920s and
1930s.17 While it is uncertainwhetherKaufmann knew of the
damsofeitherGarnieror Sant' Elia, he certainlyknewthe workof
the architecturalillustrator,Hugh Ferris.Manyof Ferris'sdraw-
ings in his popular book, The Metropolisof Tomorrow (1929), pro-
jected immense building forms, molded,
plastically with predomi-
nant vertical and horizontal setbacks. His charcoal drawings
emphasizedlightand shadowand representeda distinctly modern
approach. Finally, it can hardlybe coincidental that Hoover Dam
resembleda science fictionmovie set. The emphasis Kaufmann
placed upon drawingvisitors'attentionto such machineryas the

'7Henry-RussellHitchcockand PhilipJohnson,TheInternational Style:Architecture

Since
1922 (New York,1932); see also Richard Guy Wilson,"InternationalStyle:The MoMA
Exhibition,"Progressive LXII (Feb. 1982), 92-105; Thomas S. Hines,Richard
Architecture,
Neutraand theSearchforModernArchitecture (New York,1982), 59. Two principaljournals
were ArchitecturalRecordand Architectural Forum,both of whichconvertedfromrather
staid conservativemagazines in 1928 and 1929 and began activelysupportingmodern-
ism, though it should be noted there was no general agreementon what was modern.
AmericanArchitect-theoldest American architecturalmagazine, foundedin 1876-was
slowerto change,but was showingsome modernworkby 1930. PencilPointsremainedvery
conservative.An agressivedisplayand argumentabout modernism-both Americanand
European-can be foundin the AIAJournalfromthe mid 1920s.
Both Garnierand Sant' Elia had made minorappearances in books bysuch American
authors as Henry-RussellHitchcock,ModernArchitecture (London, 1929), 146, 171, 199.
Garnier'sworkwas publishedin UneCiti Industrielle (Paris, 1917).See also Dora Wieben-
son, TonyGarnierand theCiti Industrielle(New York, 1969). Futuristpaintingswere dis-
playedat the San FranciscoPanama-PacificInternationalExpositionin September1915.
However,Sant' Elia was evidentlynot shown. See Anne d'Haroncourt,Futurism and the
International
Avant-Garde (Philadelphia, 1981). For a recordof Sant' Elia's exhibitionsand
bibliography,see Luciano Caramel and AlbertLongatti,AntonioSant'Elia (Como, 1962).

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480 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

..............

1,`1014 ?,M
Raf"IIl
ARYS

Figure 7 Artist'sconceptionof Hoover Dam, powerplant

and Arizona outletworks,1930
ofU.S.BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

turbinesand on lightingthe dam at nightrecalled FritzLang's ex-

pressionistmovie, Metropolis (1927). As with Garnier and Sant'
Elia, FritzLang'sconnectionand possibleinfluenceon Kaufmann
is circumstantial.But Kaufmanndid havetiesto Hollywoodwhere
he designed some buildingsforvariousshowbusinesspersonali-
ties. Since he also had spent time in Germany,he was probably
aware of the Deutsche Werkbund'sattemptto reconcileart and
industry.Kaufmann'sworkat Hoover Dam, and the dam itself,
surpasses any of the various Futurist-Expressionist-Art
Deco in-
fluencesthatmightbe cited.Yetthosesourcesexistedin theback-
ground."1

18HughFerris,TheMetropolis ofTomorrow (New York,1929). See also Jean FerrisLeich,

Architectural
Visions:TheDrawingsofHughFerris(New York,1980). Ferrispublisheda draw-
ingof HooverDam in Hugh Ferris,PowerinBuildings(New York,1953),pl. 49. Metropolis was
filmedin Germanyin 1925-1926 and released in 1927. It was shownin the United States
and widelyreviewedin 1927. Lang came to Hollywoodin 1934. See FrederickW. Ott, The
FilmsofFritzLang (Secacus, N.J.,1979), 123-141 and Lotte Eisner,FritzLang (New York,
1977).

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 HooverDam 481

dk~ Av.k
wu *h

?Ape

to
---
------- -

pv.,!low

:~ tX
,
W'. AA-:::
ii~~~~~~VF

NPX

Figure 8 Artist'sconceptionof Hoover Dam and power plantas approved Nov. 19, 1932
FromReclamationEra XXIV (Jan.1933) cover CourtesyofU.S BureauofReclamation

Exactlywhythe Bureau of Reclamation hired an architectis

apparentfromthe drawingsthe bureau submittedto contractors
forbids in December 1930. On the crestof the dam, the balus-
trade and access towersappeared as attachmentsto the dam face
with little attemptat integration.Two towerswere topped by
enormous eagles that also appeared in the pediments of the
power house below. Aside from these pediments and the
flagpole,the powerhouse resembleda boringwindowedfactory.
A variationon the factoryfenestrationand pedimenteven car-

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482 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

~I_~MY"

~8~8~~
ii ?.~? ---8IEa: c
I;.
p :~"::: 1
7- :.i?'-~*? ~':":?
:...~ :, ::: aai~;: j, v" i:dfh

~-n?

Figure 9 Powerhouseand downstreamfaceas completed

byE. E. Hertzog
Photograph ofU.S BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

ried over to the awkwardlyshaped outlethouses perched on the

canyonwalls."9
At some point between December 1930 and November1932,
Kaufmannmade the recommendationsthatresultedin a prelimi-
nary sketchpublishedin January1933. While some adjustments
would continueto be made in the designof the dam,especiallyin
the powerhouse,the directionof Kaufmann'sworkwas apparent.
He simplifiedand modernizedthe various partsof the dam. On
the crest,the overhangingbalconyand fourunequal towersgave
wayto a seriesofobservationnichesand towersthatrise fromthe
wall and continueupward unimpeded. The emphasis,according
to Kaufmann,was on "an orderlyseriesof small verticalshadows

"1U.S.Dept. of the Interior,Bureau of Reclamation,HooverDam,PowerPlantand Appur-

tenantWorks, Scheduleand Drawings:Specifications
Specifications, No.519 (Washington,D.C.,
1930).

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 I

Figure 10 Nevada elevatortowerwithsculpturebyOskarJ.W. Hansen

byBen Glaha
Photograph ofU.S. BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

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484 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

Aa?

Figure 11 Intaketowersat night

byCliffSegerblom
Photograph ofU.S.BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

punctuatedby the largershadowsof the elevatorand utilitytow-

ers."He treatedtheseextrusionsas continuationsofthe dam face,
notas separatemoldings.The fourlarge towershavecutbackcor-
ners and tops reminiscentof the set-back Los Angeles Times
Building,but here weretreatedmuchmore simply.The twoouter
towerswereforutilitiesand publicrestrooms,whilethe twoinner
towersacted as publicentrancesto the dam since fromthemthe
elevatordescendedto the powerhouseand internalgalleries.Con-
sequently,these innerentrancetowerscontained the onlyorna-
menton the dam-two large cast concretepanels by sculptorOs-
kar J.W. Hansen. These panels depicted such subjectsas flood
control,irrigation,power,and the historyof the area. Their low-
relief,semiclassical,cubiststyletypfiedArtDeco sculpture.20
The fourlarge intaketowersthatprovidewaterto the turbines
werepurposelyplaced in a symmetricalpositioneven thoughthe

20"Reportof the Colorado River Board," ReclamationEra, XXIV (Jan. 1933), 4. The
reviseddesign is shownon the cover.Kaufmann,"Architectureof Boulder Dam," 3.

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 HooverDam 485

~---p--
li~i~-i~-
?--?-- :: 2:B
i"

"
d~:
.:r

II"
?~.I ,?M
n
?,.
?. rji i-

?:. :~3".~

I:
:I
"?~f~:~~
a
---
?r
CE
s :~
w
~-x;?is~
I~
'~iO~~Bfi~;
R~" ~i~a~s~
~ ~i?i
z .sy,
"W
I~
:'~t?

Figure 12 Arizona spillwayand bridge

byG. LawrenceUllom
Photograph CourtesyofU.S BureauofReclamation

site dictated asymmetricalplacement. Anchored to bedrock

about 250 feetabove the originalriverbed, the towersstand 395
feettall-the equivalentofa thirty-three-storybuilding.The en-
gineers'originaldesign forthe controlhouse on topofeach tower
resembledcrenelation,withthe piersor finscreatinga crownof
thorns.As actuallybuilt followingKaufmann'ssuggestions,the
controlhouse appears as a cap on the towerwith verticalbut-
tressesterminatingin a green-tintedconcrete roof.Kaufmann,
moreover,placed a lightglobe atop each towerso that at night
the illuminationof the interiorof the house and the lighted
globe conveyedan almost supernaturaleffectas if some hidden
dynamowas pulsatingenergy.21
The spillwayslocated on eitherside of the dam were intended
for controllingthe reservoirlevel, especially during the flood
seasons. Kaufmann again had a hand in their redesign.Origi-
nallythe bureau's engineershad projecteda large overhead gate

21U.S Bureau ofReclamation,FinalReports,

PartI-Introductory78.

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486 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

foreach side. When theyrealized thatthismightbe inadequate,

theycontinuedextensivemodel studies.The finaldesignwas for
a seriesoffourrollingdrum gates foreach side separated by sub-
stantialconcretepiers whichwere carefullystudied in profileto
providethe smoothestflowofwater.Their streamlinedshape-
consistingof a series of rounded formsbuilt upon each other-
conveyeda nautical feeling.The design of the spillways,espe-
ciallyon the Arizona side,was abstractand modernwiththe Art
Deco stylismsrecedingin the face of the powerfulmasses of the
concreteforms.The designresultedfromboth engineeringand
especially architecturalconsiderations.As the bureau's report
circumspectlynoted,"the designofthe bridgewas governedto a
considerableextentby architecturalconsiderations,in order to
providea structurein harmonywiththe general massivenessof
the dam and spillways.Consequently,some ofits membersare of
greatersize than actuallyrequired forutility."22
The powerhouseat the base of the dam used forhousingthe
turbineswas also substantiallymodifiedbyKaufmann. He noted
that while "engineeringprinciples"determinedthe overall size,
shape, and plan of the powerhouse,his role was to mold the fa-
cades into a more harmonious statement.Taking the predeter-
mined column spacing of the structureas a given,Kaufmann
created recessed vertical fenestrationpanels in between the
columns. Horizontallyplaced wood formwork(two-by-six-foot
lagging) was used on the exteriorwalls to align them with the
horizontallayeringof the concreteworkof the dam face. Along
the frontofthe powerhouse on eitherside,Kaufmannarranged
smaller box-like switchhouses with horizontalaluminum fins
across theirtops thatcontrastedwiththe predominantvertical-
ism of the powerhouse.By placing transformers on the exterior
in fullview,Kaufmann obviouslyglorifiedthe technologicalna-
tureofthe project.23
The outletor valve houses located on the canyonwallsand in-
tended foroverflowwere also substantiallymodifiedfromtheir
earlier pedestrianmien. The bureau's reportnoted that"archi-

BulletinI,
22U.S.Bureau of Reclamation,Final Reports,PartVI--HydraulicInvestigation,
ModelStudiesofSpillways(Denver,1938); Final Reports,PartIV--Design and Construction,
Bulletin3,Diversion, and SpillwayStructures
Outlet, (Denver,1947), 318- 321.
23Kaufmann,"Architecture of Boulder Dam," 3.

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 HooverDam 487

tecturalconsiderationssuggestedan appearance of stabilityand

security,and a color in harmonywith the surroundings."The
result was a denser structurewith feweropenings, especially
openings containingreferencesto traditionalfenestration.Five
verticalwindowsand six circularports forwaterdischargewere
the basic features,whilethe formitselfhad horizontalgroovesat
the cornersand a batteredbase. Kaufmann explained that the
horizontalgroovesgave "a feelingof stability-as iftheyserved
to hold the structureagainstthe sheerwallofthe canyon."24
Kaufmann also had some impacton the finalcolor ofthe dam.
During the curingand cooling of the concretewhen all surfaces
had to be keptmoist-generally bycontinuousspraying-it was
noticedthattheconcretebecame colored. Reddishand brownish
stainsdeveloped thatcame fromthe ironoxide in both the water
and the pipes used forthe curing.As a consequence,Kaufmann
attemptedto graduate the depthofcolor on both the dam's face,
the powerhouses,and the valve houses. The valve houses were
cured to a warmdark red at the base and a lighterred at the top.
On the dam Kaufmann triedto graduate the color fromthe bot-
tom to the top,thoughas the reportstated,"the results... were
notentirelysatisfactory." Subsequentagingand weatheringoblit-
erated most of the color graduation and the dam now-fifty
yearslater-is a lighttan in color.25
Kaufmann'simprintis also obviouson the dam'sinterior.From
the beginningitwas assumed the structurewouldbe a greatpub-
licitybonus forthe Bureau of Reclamationand wouldattractvisi-
tors. Kaufmann recommendedthat the bureau engage Denver
artistAllen True to actas colorconsultantforportionsofthe inte-
rior.True foundthe taskconduciveto furthering modernistaes-
theticsand declared: "it no longer sufficesthat a hydroelectric
plantwhichservesmillionsof people be encased in a mere build-
ing-its housingmustexpressthrougharchitectural planningthe
new understandingoffunctionalformand satisfyin everyrespect

24U.S.Bureau of Reclamation,Final Reports, Bulletin3,

PartIV-Design and Construction,
202; Kaufmann,"Architectureof Boulder Dam," 4.
Bulletin4,
25U.S.Bureau of Reclamation,Final Report,PartIV-Design and Construction,
ConcreteManufacture,Handlingand Control(Denver,1947), 171. See also Kaufmann,"Ar-
chitectureof Boulder Dam," 4; and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,Final Reports,PartIV-
Bulletin3,202.
Designand Construction,

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488 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

?v lk

i~oil
0-ol

Figure 13 Interiorofthe Nevada wingofthe powerplant

byE. E. Hertzog
Photograph ofU.S.BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

the prideand estheticjoy thatman findsin his accomplishments."

Largelydue to True'sefforts,the fourtowerson thecrestincluded
small,yetelaborate, lobbies with floorsof highlypolished dark
greenand blackterrazzoencased in wallsofdarkgreenand black
marblewithwhitestuccoand aluminumceilingsand trim.Since
the elevatortowersservedas publicentrances,theirbronzedoors
opened ontoterrazzodecorativepanelssetin thefloor.True based
hisdesignofthese panels on decorativemotifsof SouthwestIndi-
ans and extendedthesepatternsin the floorsand arounddrainsof
the tunnelsdownin thedam throughwhichvisitorsmovedto view
the turbinegalleriesand powerhouse. True'spatternscame from
Pima baskets,Acoma bowls,and sand paintings.While acknowl-
edging theirapparent primitiveness, True claimed that manyof
the patternswerealso strikingly modernand appropriateforthe
dam. The swirlingcentralmotif,he claimed,"willrevealits strik-
ingsimilarityto whatmightbe termedan engineer'sbasic diagram

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 HooverDam 489

ofa generatoror turbine,withvalves,gates,and suggestionofcen-

trifugalmotion."26
The visitorcomingto the dam would enterthe elevatorlobby,
drop some 528 feetin the elevator withinthe dam, walk into a
gleamingwhiteinteriortunnel lined withglazed brick,stand on
a floorpatternedwithTrue's Indian designs,and finallyarriveat
the platformforviewingthe turbines.In the color scheme for
the powerhouse interior,True selected ten colors that had "In-
dian characteristics"but were"made as brilliantas possible."The
resultwas a strikinginteriorset againstrepetitiveconcretepiers.
Huge turbinegalleriesgleamed withthe generatorsin theirdeep
red casings and aluminum trim and piping. Overhead cranes
painted a jade green along with vermilion,blue, and yellow
valves,graycontrol panels with switchesand dials in full view
offereda far more dramaticsettingthan even FritzLang could
have conceived.27
The physicalfactof the dam coupled withthe act ofconstruc-
tion would seem testimonyenough of the project'ssignificance,
but Americans have oftenwanted their achievements,whether
small or large, to be seen in a cosmological light. Hoover Dam
was no different.Under the guidance of Kaufmann,a competi-
tionwas held fora monumentto accompanythe dam. The result
was the commissioningof Norwegian-bornOskar J.W. Hansen.
Hansen, who contributedthe low reliefplaques overthe elevator
towers,had also designed a memorial,placed on the rockcanyon
wall on the Arizona side,to workerswho had lost theirlivesdur-
ing construction.For the principalmonument,located on the
Nevada side,Hansen designeda base ofpolished blackdioritefor
a 142-foot flagpole and two thirty-foot-tallseated winged
figures.These surrealisticapparitionsunderscoredthe unreality
of a dam and lake in the middle of a hostile desert. Made of
bronze, the figures'wings and arms were molded into a single
unit similarto the unityKaufmann achieved betweenthe crest
towersand the dam face. Hansen claimed that the figuressym-
bolized the universalaspirationsof mankind and the achieve-

26AllenTrue, "Color and Decoration at the Boulder Power Plant,"ReclamationEra,

XXVI (Jan. 1936), 12-13.
27AllenTrue, "The Planned Use of Color at the Boulder Dam PowerPlant,"ibid.,(Feb.
1936),48.

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 ILI

idZ-

Figure 14 Winged figuresofthe RepublicbyOskarJ.W. Hansen,

Hoover Dam dedication monument
byR. C. Middleton
Photograph ofU.S.BureauofReclamation
Courtesy

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 HooverDam 491

mentofAmericans.More specifically, he intendedtheirstoicvis-

ages "withthe look of eagles" to representthose who settledthe
West.To furtherunderscorethe universality ofthe dam,Hansen
embedded in the floorof the monumentthe Great Seal of the
United States,signsofthe zodiac, and a large starmap indicating
such importanthistoricaldates as the constructionof the pyra-
mids and the birthof Christalong withthe preciseastronomical
time of the dam's dedication on September 30, 1935, at eight
minutes,and 2.25 seconds in the evening.With
hours, fifty-six
constellations,stars,and planets placed in an intersectingpat-
ternofcircles,triangles,and straightlinessimilarto thatused by
the Russian Constructivistsofthe 1920s,Hansen, in effect,froze
the entireuniverseat thisone point in time.Looking at his crea-
tion, Hansen forecastthat,"in remote ages to come, intelligent
people mayviewthe starmap out ofwhichrisesthe monumentat
Boulder Dam and fromit learn ... the astronomicaltime~ofthe
dam'sdedication."28
On May 29, 1935, the last bucketofconcretewas placed in the
dam and on September30 PresidentFranklinDelano Roosevelt
dedicated the dam. In February,waterhad alreadybegun to be
impounded in Lake Mead and in October the firstelectricpower
surgedover266 milesoftransmissionlinesto Los Angeles,where
a major celebration was held. The impact of the dam on the
Southwestwould be tremendous,for in a veryreal sense it al-
lowed southern California and Los Angeles to continueto de-
velop. Furthermore,the dam led to the growthof southernNe-
vada and Las Vegas as recreation spots, and permitted the
continuedagriculturaldevelopmentofthe greatfood-producing
valleysofCaliforniaand Arizona. So greatwas the powerpoten-
tialof Hoover Dam thatnot until 1961,twenty-six yearslater,was
the last hydroelectricgeneratorplaced in service.Not untilthen
had the energydemand risenenough to consumeall ofthe dam's
output. If,when the dam was completedin 1935, all the generat-
ing unitshad been placed in service,theircombinedhorsepower

28OskarHansen, "The Sculpturesat Boulder Dam-Part I: Withthe Look of Eagles,"

ibid.,XXXII (Feb. 1942), 32; Hansen, "The Sculpturesat Boulder Dam-Part II: Split
Second Petrifiedin the Face of the UniversalClock," ibid.(March 1942), 57. These two
articlesby Hansen are reprintedin a pamphlet, Sculptures at HooverDam (Washington,
D.C., 1968).

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492 PACIFIC HISTORICAL REVIEW

would haveequalled one-eighthofall the horsepoweravailablein

the United Statesforgeneratingelectricity.29
Statisticscontinueto overwhelmand Hansen's monumentstill
impressesvisitors,but finallyitis the dam as a physicalentitythat
captures the imagination.One approach to the edificeis across
the harshdesert,thendown a windingcanyonuntilaround a cor-
ner there appears the massive,smoothcliff,a concave wedge of
concrete-the machine hand of man-pushing apart the rough
wallsof Black Canyonand holdingback trillionsof gallonsofwa-
ter. Behind the dam a glisteningmirage-likelake of deep blue
stretchesout into the fardistance.Alternatively, the dam can be
approached at night with the vast wall brilliantlylit. From the
inkydepths of Lake Mead the intake towers emerge,glowingwith
of
messages energy and Hoover
light. Dam is one ofthe fewstruc-
turesbuiltin scale withthe vast landscapes ofthe West.It exerts
controlover thatlandscape, both throughsize and design.As an
architecturaldesign, Hoover Dam belies one of the mythsof
modern architecture,as proposed by Le Corbusier and others,
thatthe greatfunctionalstructuresweresimplytheworkofengi-
neers. Kaufmann-an architect-converted the dam's design
froma banal, warmed-overclassicismstyleto the realmof mod-
ernism.His modernistvocabularynot only respected the engi-
neers' technologicaldemands, it also enhanced them.The crest
and intaketowershave the setbacksofArtDeco skyscrapers.The
spillwaysare streamlinedwiththeirrounded formsand thinin-
cised "speed whisker"linesnear the top ofeach pier. Far down at
the dam's base the powerhouse-with its verticalfenestration,
horizontallayeringof formwork,and gleamingaluminum and
stainlesssteel transformers-capturesthe spiritof hightechnol-
ogyand the inherentbeautyofmachines.In each case the differ-
ent stylefitsthe particularactivityas wellas the overallform.30
Equally impressiveis the interior:the public lobbies of black,
green,bronze,and aluminum;the hygenicallywhitetunnels;Al-
len True's angular and circular Indian patterns set into the
floors;and, finally, the great turbinechamberson either side of
the powerhouse. The reiteratedpiers of the galleries and the

29"BoulderDam: EngineeringTriumph,"LiteraryDigest,CXXII (Oct. 17, 1935), 19.

30Le Corbusier,Towardsa NewArchitecture,
33, 42; Erich Mendelsohn,Amerika:Bilder-
buckEinesArchitekten
(Berlin,1926).

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 HooverDam 493

hummingturbinesencased in theirsmooth and glisteningjack-

ets recall HenryAdams'sconfrontationwiththe dynamo:"he be-
gan to feel the forty-foot dynamo as a moral force,much as the
early Christians feltthe Cross. The planet itselfseemed less im-
pressive, in its old-fashioned deliberate,annual or dailyrevolu-
tion,thanthishuge wheel,revolvingwithinarm's-lengthat some
vertiginousspeed.... Before the end, one began to pray to
it.... " ArtistslikeCharles Sheeler,Hugh Ferris,Ben Glaha, and
CliffSegerblom tried to capture the dam's forcein paint, char-
coal, and photographs.WritersfromJ.B. Priestleyto Theodore
Whiteand Joan Didion have speculated on itsmovingpower.For
them,Hoover Dam representeda new modern world of special
beauty that was simultaeously"strangeand uncomfortable."In
1937, Priestleysaw in the dam
thatworldwecatcha glimpseofinone ofthelatersequencesofWells's
film, 'ThingstoCome,'a worldofgiantmachines and titaniccommunal
enterprises. Here in thisWesternAmericanwilderness, thenewman,
themanofthefuturehasdonesomething, and whathe hasdonetakes
yourbreathaway.Whenyoulookdownat thatvastsmoothwall,at its
towersofconcrete, itspowerstations,at thenewlakesand cataractsit
hascreated,andyousee themenwhohavemadeitallmovingfarbelow
likeantsor swinging in midairas iftheywerelittlespiders,
perilously
and younotethemajesticorderand rhythm ofthework,youarevisited
by emotions that are hardtodescribe,ifonlybecausesomeofthemare
as newas thegreatDam itself.31

UltimatelyHoover Dam, like all greatworksof art and all im-

portantsymbols,transcendsdescriptionand interpretation.It is
more than whatcan be writtenor expressed. As a workof art it
tugsat the base ofemotion,offersnew experiences,and opens a
new reality.Hoover Dam is one of the great architecturalland-
marksofAmericanmodernismin the 1930s.

31Adams,The Education,380; "Power: A Portfolioby Charles Sheeler,"Fortune, XXII

(Dec. 1940),73-83. On Ferris,see note 18; on Glaha and Segerblom,see note 11; see also
StanleyWood, "Boulder Dam, Portfolioof Watercolors,"Fortune, IX (May 1934),92-100;
and WilliamWoollett'slithographof the dam under constructionin CaliforniaArtsand
Architecture
XLVII (Jan. 1935), frontcover.Woollettdid a numberof lithographson the
dam (Woollettto author,July15, 1984); White,"Buildingthe Big Dam"; and Joan Didion,
"A Piece ofWorkforNow and Doomsday,"LifeLXIII (March 13, 1970),25, reprintedwith
changes in The WhiteAlbum(New York, 1979), 198- 201; J.B. Priestly,"Arizona Desert,"
Harper'sMonthlyMagazine,CLXXIV (March 1937),365.

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