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C!:' In 00 -' ,.. ~ Calm waters below HOlJl'e/" Dam ortest to its success ill controlling and regulating the Colorado River. The winged figures arc 30 feet high. Their shells are 5/8-inch thick. and con- tain more than 4 tons of statuary bronze. The figures were formed from sand molds weighing 492 tons. The bronze that forms the shells was heated to 2,5000 Fahrenheit. and poured into the molds in one continuous. molten stream. The figures rest on a base of black diorite, an igneoLls rock. In order to place the blocks without marring their highly polished finish. they werc centered on blocks of ice, and guided precisely into place as the ice melted. After the blocks were in place, the flagpole was dropped through a hole in the center block into a prcdriUcd hole in the mountain. Surrounding the base is a terrazzo floor, inlaid with a star chart, or celestial map. The chart preserves for future gen. erations the date on which President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Hoover Dam ~ September 30, 1935. The apparent magnitudes of stars on the chan are shown as they would appear to the naked eye at a distance of about 190 trillion miles from ealih. In reality, the distance to most of the stars is more than 950 trillion miles. In this celestial map, the bodies of the solar system are placed so exactly that those versed in astronomy could calculate the precession (progressively earlier oc- currence) of the Pole Star for approx- imately the next 14,000 years. Con- versely, future generations could look upon this monument and detennine, if no other means were available, the exact date on which Hoover Dam was completed. Near the figures and elevated above the floor is a compass, framed by the signs of the zodiac. Hansen also designcd the plaque com- memorating the 96 men who died during the constmction of Hoover Dam, as well as the bas-relief series on both the Nevada and Arizona elevator towers. The plaque, originally set into the canyon wall on the Arizona side of the dam, is now located near thc winged figures. It reads: '771ey died to make the desen bloom. The United States of America will con- tinue to remember that many who toiled here found their final rest while engaged in the building of this dam. 77le United States of America will continue to remember the services of all who labored to clothe with substance the plans of those who first visioned the building of this dam. ~ The five bas-reliefs on the Nevada elevator tower, done in concrete, show the multipurpose benefits of Hoover Dam-flood control, navigation, irriga- tion, water storage, and power. On thc Arizona elevator tower is a series of five bas-reliefs, also in concrete, depicting "the visages of those Indian tribes who have inhabited mountains and plains from ages distant." Accompanying the illustrations is the inscription, "Since primordial times, American indian tribes and Nations lifted their hands to the Great Spirit from these ranges and plains. We now with them in peace buildeth again a Nation." 55