Travel | Hoover Dam

For the the second year in a row Matt & were fortunate enough to attend the annual WPPI convention in Las Vegas for professional wedding photographers (hey thats us!) Anywho, something we did last year that we loved and knew we would have to do again this year was rent a car to drive into the desert and explore the Southwest away from the city lights. Last year we only had our car for about 12hrs, we planned so that we could have our car for 2 days... yeah! 

Our first stop with our car was the historic Hoover Dam about 45 minutes south of Las Vegas on the border of the Nevada / Arizona state line hovering above the Colorado River. I feel like the Hoover Dam is always that cool historic place that has tons of documentaries on PBS about that seem to suck you in because they are so damn (dam get it ha!) interesting. In person it really is an amazing feat of engineering and an overwhelming sight to see.

For those of you who really aren't into documentaries, some quick history on the dam. Though it took many years of planning for this dam going back as far as 1922, offical construction began in 1931 sanctioned by Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression (though President Franklin D. Roosevelt over saw most of the project after being elected in 1932 defeating Hoover). Construction lasted just over 4 years when it finally was completed and dedicated by the president in 1936. (After the dedication President Roosevelt went to Vegas making him the first president to visit there!) The dam itself served/serves many purposes like jobs during an era that had very little, flood control, water and most of all power to a very large region of Nevada, Arizona and California. It also is a huge tourist attraction with nearly a million visitors each year. In 1985 it was designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Hoover Dam also incloses Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. Another not as well known fact.... The original name was actually always was Hoover Dam (after President Hoover) but was changed to Boulder Dam (after the near by town of Boulder City) due to his lack of popularity however when the name didn't seem to stick in 1947 Congress voted to reinstate the Hoover Dam which it has been ever since. 

There is also a very distinct Art Deco feel to Hoover Dam which I did not expect from the ornate signs, elevators and statues making the dam not only functional but beautiful. The cost is very little to visit... free if you just drive over in fact. We payed a small $9 for parking and that was it. Sadly the sky began to downpour on us so we didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked but if you ever have a chance to visit this very unique site I highly recommend it! 

Credits | Author: Krista & Photography: Fornear Photo