The Hoover Dam, which stands at 726 feet, was the world's tallest dam at the time of it completion in 1935. It took just four years (1931-1935) to build this massive structure. Although larger dams have been built it still ranks as one of the tallest. The dam is located between Nevada and Arizona along the Colorado River. This massive dam was the idea of President Herbert Hoover. The structure's name was changed from Boulder Dam to the Hoover Dam in honor of him. The need for a dam had been seen for over two decades, so in the early 1920's site testing began for this great project. Many thought that by controlling the Colorado River they could provide hydroelectric power to many areas out west. This added power was needed due to the extreme growth of Las Vegas and Southern California. Many bids were made on the price of the dam, but in the end it was the Six Companies Inc. who won the project. They estimated the dam to cost $48,890,955. Although they were anxious to start construction it could not be done until transportation to and from the site was established. Thus the first project was to lay roads and railroads to transport the many materials to the site. The next step was to reroute the Colorado River until the dam could be completed. Six Companies built four tunnels through Black Canyon, and then lined these tunnels with concrete. A temporary dam was then constructed to push the river into these tunnels. After the river was "moved" out of the way special men called "high scalers" were called in. The men chosen for this job came from all different types of backgrounds, but all had the same thing in common: they were agile and unafraid to swing out over empty space with only a slender rope holding them up. This work was some of the hardest and most dangerous work on the project. The men would descend into the canyon with only small tools and a water bag. Next jackhammers, that weighed 44 pounds, would be lowered to them.
