30 September 1935: The Hoover Dam is dedicated
On this day in 1935, thousands of spectators crowded into Black Canyon to see Franklin D Roosevelt celebrate the completion of “the greatest dam in the world”.
On 30 September 1935, ten thousand spectators crowded into Black Canyon, on the banks of the Colorado River. There, in the scorching heat, they listened, while millions more crowded round their radios at home.
US president Franklin D Roosevelt had arrived to "celebrate the completion of the greatest dam in the world" the Boulder Dam' and definitely not the Hoover Dam'.
Leading up to the dedication ceremony, a row had broken out over what the dam would be called. At a ceremony to mark the start of construction to build a railway from Las Vegas to the dam in 1930, the secretary of the interior, Ray Lyman Wilbur, had taken it upon himself to name the future dam after the then president, Herbert Hoover.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
His successor, Harold L Ickes, was furious. During his own speech to mark the completion of the dam, Ickes repeated the name “Boulder Dam” over and over to drive the point home. And to be fair, Boulder Dam was how most people knew it. The press almost always referred to it as Boulder Dam, and it was the "Boulder Canyon Project Act" that President Calvin Coolidge had signed off in 1928.
After four years, the dam – whatever you choose to call it – was all but completed. Only the powerhouse had yet to be finished by the time Roosevelt gave his speech. The dam, rising 221 metres over the Colorado River, had been completed two years early at a cost of $49m – around $850m in today's money.
Sadly, the dam had also cost the lives of over a hundred workers, who toiled in the extreme heat in often perilous conditions. Nearby Las Vegas, a town of just a few thousand, swelled with the arrival of thousands of unemployed labourers and their families – this was the Great Depression, after all – and the town of Boulder City rose up out of the desert.
In the years that followed, the reputation of Herbert Hoover rose in the public's estimation, and the name Boulder Dam gradually made way for the former president's. In 1947, amid much teeth-grinding from Ickes, Congress unanimously voted to settle on the name Hoover Dam.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.
Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.
You can follow Chris on Instagram.
-
8 of the best houses for sale with libraries
This week: the best houses for sale with libraries – from a five-storey Georgian townhouse in Bloomsbury, London, to a 15th-century property with a library in a medieval tower in Lozère, France
By Natasha Langan Published
-
Investors pull money from UK equities as government warns of “painful” Budget
The government’s post-election honeymoon period has been short-lived, and investors are shying away from UK equities as a result
By Katie Williams Published
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UK
Features On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
By Jasper Spires Published
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launched
Features On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
By Ben Judge Published
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar Square
Features On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
By Ben Judge Published
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is created
Features On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
By Chris Carter Published
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
By Chris Carter Last updated
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
By Ben Judge Last updated
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formed
Features On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
By Chris Carter Last updated
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
By Ben Judge Last updated