Hoover Dam,
looking north over Lake Mead |
City of Lights. It's an
obvious nickname for Las Vegas as the Strip creeps southward and skyward
in an ever-expanding phantasmagoria of neon. Perhaps it's no surprise
that one of the most popular tourist destinations in Southern Nevada is
one of the sources of all those kilowatts. Yes, Hoover Dam is right up
there with theme park hotels when it comes to drawing a crowd. A million
visitors a year head southeast from the city to Black Canyon, where 616
million tons of concrete have been providing the wherewithal to generate
countless megawatts since 1935.
We joined the throng last
week on what Las Vegans call a 'cool' summer day. It was 'only' 105 degrees,
which meant it was still warm enough to brew tea on the face of the dam,
but it wasn't hot enough to fry eggs. Even so, we were glad we remembered
to bring hats with brims.
We stopped first at the
Visitors' Center, which has covered parking and lots of photos and displays
that show how the dam was built. We watched a half-hour movie, too, but
it was less than satisfying. Filmed in 1936, it was a scratchy, black-and-white
propaganda piece that romanticized the obvious dangers faced by the men
who risked their lives to build the dam. The 'facts' were all out of date,
too, and we left the theater hoping our tour would be more enlightening.
There are three tour options
available to dam visitors: 'regular,' 'hard hat,' and 'exhibits only.'
We opted for the 'hard hat' tour, not only because it promised a better
look at the inside of the dam, but also because the tour group size is
smaller. And hey, you get to keep your hard hat.
Dan McRoberts |
At the appointed time,
we set out with Dan McRoberts, who has been giving tours of Hoover Dam
since 1983. A fountain of fascinating information, Dan told us how the
dam's massive size had ignited fears abroad that building it might throw
the earth off its axis. "And there are no bodies trapped in the concrete,"
he said, laying a pervasive rumor to rest. Hundreds of men died building
the dam, but carbon monoxide was the most common killer. There was no
ventilation in the tunnels, and men called "chasers" would run
in every twelve minutes to drag out anyone who had collapsed. Needless
to say, the "chasers" were not always successful.
As dangerous as it was
to work on the dam, the Great Depression made the wages and housing attractive.
From 1931 to 1935, more than 16, 000 men worked on Hoover Dam. In 1983,
a reunion was held in Boulder City, and over a thousand men attended.
In 1999, at a subsequent reunion, the youngest attendee was 87 years old.
Not for claustrophobiacs: access tunnel
on the side of Black Canyon |
My favorite part of the
tour was when we got to walk through a tunnel (claustrophobiacs beware!)
about seven feet in diameter. At the end, we peeked out through louvers
(acrophobiacs beware!) approximately halfway up the face of the dam. Yikes.
Inside, all is turbines,
although, as Dan explained, the dam was really built to control the Colorado
River, not create electricity. It's the sale of electrical power, however,
that has made Hoover Dam a monetary success. The dam paid for itself with
interest a long time ago, and it continues to turn a profit selling power
to western cities.
Electricity-producing
turbines |
One of the most amazing
things about Hoover Dam is that, in addition to its other functions, it
is a highway. No other bridge spans the river in the area, which means
the dam's two lanes are always chock full of eighteen-wheelers, crawling
along amid all the pedestrian tourists. This could change in a few years,
if plans to build a bypass come to fruition.
726.4 vertical
feet of concrete |
Now that I've taken the
'hard hat' tour, I can fully appreciate why so many other tourists make
the pilgrimage to Black Canyon every day. It may not be the biggest and
tallest and newest and most expensive any more, but Hoover Dam's a wonder
nonetheless. And while you need to see it soon if you want to catch big
rigs using it for a highway, there's no rush in any other respect. According
to Dan McRoberts, Hoover Dam's life expectancy is another four or five
thousand years. Yikes. Just think what the Strip might look like in the
year 7000.
Megan
8/00
