![]() Meanwhile, the dried riverbed allowed for construction to begin on the powerplant, four intake towers and the dam itself. Suspended from heights of up to 800 feet above the canyon floor, high scalers wielded 44-pound jackhammers and metal poles to knock loose material, a treacherous task that resulted in casualties from falling workers, equipment and rocks. The second step of involved the clearing of the walls that would contain the dam. ![]() The contract was awarded in March 1931 to Six Companies, a group of construction firms that had pooled its resources to meet the steep $5 million performance bond. government set about finding a contractor to build the proposed 60-story arch dam. Those who were hired eventually moved to Boulder City, a community specifically built six miles from the work site to house its employees. ![]() Wilbur announced the structure would be called Hoover Dam at a 1930 dedication ceremony, though the name didn’t become official until 1947.Īs the Great Depression unfolded, hopeful laborers descended on Las Vegas and set up camp in the surrounding desert for the chance to work on the project. In honor of the new president’s contributions, Secretary of the Interior Ray L. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover brokered the 1922 Colorado River Compact to divide the water proportionally among the seven states, but the legal wrangling continued until outgoing President Calvin Coolidge authorized the Boulder Canyon Project in December 1928. ![]()
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