On July 7, 1930, construction began on the future site of the
Hoover Dam. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men 
worked ceaselessly to produce what would be the largest
dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade
structures in the world.

Although the dam would take only five years to build, its
construction was nearly 30 years in the making.

Arthur Powell Davis, an engineer from the Bureau of
Reclamation, originally had his vision for the Hoover
Dam back in 1902, and his engineering report on the
topic became the guiding document when plans were
finally made to begin the dam in 1922.        
        

        
        
       
       

Arthur Powell Davis
(February 9, 1861 – August 7, 1933)

Today, the Hoover Dam generates enough energy each
year to serve over a million people, and stands, in
Hoover Dam artist Oskar Hansen’s words, as
“a monument to collective genius exerting itself
in community efforts around a common need or
ideal.”