A history of Boulder,
since 1931
Postcards, papers and photographs of Boulder from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The land upon which Boulder City was founded was a harsh, desert environment. Its sole reason for existence was the need to house workers contracted to build the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River (known commonly as Boulder Dam from 1933 to 1947, when it was officially renamed Hoover Dam by a joint resolution of Congress). Men hoping for work on the dam project had begun settling along the river in tents soon after the precise site for the dam had been chosen by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1930. Their ramshackle edifices were collectively known as "Ragtown".
Boulder City was originally built in 1931 by the Bureau of Reclamation and Six Companies, Inc. as housing for workers who were building the Hoover Dam.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Boulder’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewLake Auto Court, U.S. 93 - 466, B…, c. 1930: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Boulder, decade by decade
CommonsLake Auto Court, U.S. 93 - 466, Boulder City, Nevada (80596)c. 1930
CommonsVale Auto Court, U.S. 93 - 466, Boulder City, Nevada (80591)c. 1930
Commons"Cooling units as installed in the office engineer's drafti…1932
Commons"Dual compressor installation serving cooling system, Gover…1932
Commons"U.S.B.R. basketball team."1936
Commons"U.S.B.R. ladies basketball team."19361990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Lake Auto Court, U.S. 93 - 466, Boulder City, Nevada (80596) (c. 1930) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.