WSP10089

• File Number: 8220.200.05.A
• Description: Hoover Dam/Lake Mead/Boulder Canyon Project
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 1/1/1950
• Title: The Story of Hoover Dam: Conservation Bulletin No. 9
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

The site ultimately chosen for Boulder" City is on a summit 'i miles southwest
of the dam. Several factors figured in the final choice, but one of the most
impelling was the topography of the site. With an elevation of about 2.500
feet above sea level, Boulder City is more than 1,300 feet above the Colo;ado
River; it is more than 1,200 feet above the dam's crest. and is nearh- 500
feet higher than Las Vegas. Therefore, it was reasonable to expect that
temperatures would be less rigorous there than at any other site ,,,"'hich might
have been selected.
The city is laid out in the shape of a triangle, with the apex pointing north.
Here, the Bureau of Reclamation's Administration building is located.
Fanning out from this point are the principal streets of the city.
Since the town site is located entirelv on Government-owned land all land
title is retained by the Bureau of Recl~ation. Private buildings ar'e erected
only after a permit has been secured. No land taxes are levied but the
permittee, or lessee, is charged a ground rent payable to the Gover~ment.
With the town site selected, early in 1931, the town began to rise from the
desert. Ground was leveled. Streets were surveyed and paved. Trees and
lawns were planted. And spacious parks were laid out. Both the Bureau of
Reclamation and the contractor began building dwelling houses and office
structures_ Private businesses were licensed and were soon in operation.
And a sewer system, water system, and electrical facilities were installed.
By mid-1932, more than 2,500 persons resided in tht;; town, and in 1934
Boulder City, with a population of over 6,000, was the third largest city in
the State.
Then, as the dam neared completion, the contractors began moving to
other jobs. Men gathered their tools and families and prepared to follow.
Decline in population was gradual for the next few years, and in 1939-40
residents in Boulder City numbered fewer than 3,000 persons. There were
many who believed that the decline would continue until there would remain
only a village housing a skeleton force needed for operating and maintaining
the huge dam and power plant.
Then came World War II, and America began feverishly to gird its loins
for the impending crisis.
Although the Hoover Dam power plant was the world's largest in 1940,
yet the demand for power in the industrial areas of the Southwest was so
great that additional generating units were ordered. More workers were
needed to install these units, and once more Boulder City began to grow.
It should be pointed out that when the city was planned, only such require-
ments as were foreseen during the construction period were taken into
account. Most all of the buildings were erected as te~porary structures.
True, the Government's buildings, and some dwellings, were built with a
view to permanency, but most structures were temporary in nature. Accord-
ingly all original leases and permits were granted for a period of 10 years.
With the city facing a housing shortage in 1940-41, and with time of the
original leases expiring, there was urgent need both for additional houses

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and for extension of the present lea~_es. For the most part all leases were
extended for another 10 years. And as it became apparent that certain struc.
tures would take on a status of permanency, leases were granted to new con-
structions on a 20-year basis. Still another type of lease was needed. There
'....ere some who sought to finance buildings through the FHA. And in order
to make such financing possible, some leases were granted for a period of 53
years. These three types of leases are still in effect.
Since 1941 Boulder City has grown steadily. To provide additional hous-
ing, the Bureau of Reclamation erected 100 temporary houses in 1941--42.
Defense Plant Corporation built 60 units to house part of its personnel en-
gaged in operating its huge basic magnesium rlant. At the same time con~
siderable building was undertaken by private citizens_
Increase in population brought expansion in present business establish-
ments, and several new businesses were started. School facilities were
strained to the breaking point and in 1941 a ne,-\' high school building was
completed.
Since the end of the late war, Boulder City has expanded at a rapid rate.
Service establishments of all sorts, and scores of new dwellings. have been
built. Streets and sidewalks have been laid out and paved. And an addition
to the city's water system is being provided. In fact the town has expanded
so swiftly that by the end of 1947, all available building sites had been taken.
Once more Boulder City was a town of nearly 6,000 population.
Boulder City, being a Government town, has a unique form of city admin-
istration. There are no elective city officials as in most towns. During con.
struction the city was administered by a city manager, appointed by the Sec-
retary of the Interior, and responsible to the Bureau of Reclamation's con.
struction engineer. In 1941, when the city's first and only city manager
retired, the form of city administration was changed slightly. Now, admin-
istration of the city is the responsibility of the project's director of power,
who in turn delegates authority to an engineer in charge of city management.
Boulder City residents have the right to vote in all State and national
elections.

Section ol30~/oot penstock, shmving visitor's gallery in background.