Hoover Dam Architectural style

　　The initial plans for the facade of the dam, the power plant, the outlet tunnels and ornaments clashed with the modern look of an arch dam. The Bureau of Reclamation, more concerned with the dams functionality, adorned it with a Gothic-inspired balustrade and eagle statues. This initial design was criticized by many as being too plain and unremarkable for a project of such immense scale, so Los Angeles-based architect Gordon B. Kaufmann, then the supervising architect to the Bureau of Reclamation, was brought in to redesign the exteriors. Kaufmann greatly streamlined the design, and applied an elegant Art Deco style to the entire project. He designed sculptured turrets rising seamlessly from the dam face and clock faces on the intake towers set for the time in Nevada and Arizonathe two states are in different time zones, but as Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, the clocks display the same time for more than half the year.

　　At Kaufmanns request, Denver artist Allen Tupper True was hired to handle the design and decoration of the walls and floors of the new dam. Trues design scheme incorporated motifs of the Navajo and Pueblo tribes of the region. Although some initially were opposed to these designs, True was given the go-ahead and was officially appointed consulting artist. With the assistance of the National Laboratory of Anthropology, True researched authentic decorative motifs from Indian sand paintings, textiles, baskets and ceramics. The images and colors are based on Native American visions of rain, lightning, water, clouds, and local animalslizards, serpents, birdsand on the Southwestern landscape of stepped mesas. In these works, which are integrated into the walkways and interior halls of the dam, True also reflected on the machinery of the operation, making the symbolic patterns appear both ancient and modern.

　　With the agreement of Kaufmann and the engineers, True also devised an innovative color coding for the pipes and machinery, which was implemented throughout all BOR projects. Trues consulting artist job lasted through 1942; it was extended so he could complete design work for the Parker, Shasta and Grand Coulee dams and power plants. Trues work on the Hoover Dam was humorously referred to in a poem published in The New Yorker, part of which read, lose the spark, and justify the dream; but also worthy of remark will be the color scheme.

　　Complementing Kaufmann and Trues work, the Norwegian-born, naturalized American sculptor Oskar J.W. Hansen designed many of the sculptures on and around the dam. His works include the monument of dedication plaza, a plaque to memorialize the workers killed and the bas-reliefs on the elevator towers. In his words, Hansen wanted his work to express the immutable calm of intellectual resolution, and the enormous power of trained physical strength, equally enthroned in placid triumph of scientific accomplishment. because The building of Hoover Dam belongs to the sagas of the daring. Hansens dedication plaza, on the Nevada abutment, contains a sculpture of two winged-figures flanking a flagpole. Surrounding the base of the monument is a terrazzo floor embedded with a star map. The map depicts the Northern Hemisphere sky at the moment of President Roosevelts dedication of the dam. This is intended to help future astronomers, if necessary, calculate the exact date of dedication. The 30 feet high bronze figures, dubbed Winged Figures of the Republic, were each formed in a continuous pour. To put such large bronzes into position without marring the highlypolished bronze surface, they were placed on ice and guided into position as the ice melted. Hansens bas-relief on the Nevada elevator tower depicts the benefits of the dam: flood control, navigation, irrigation, water storage, and power. The bas-relief on the Arizona elevator depicts, in his words: the visages of those Indian tribes who have inhabited mountains and plains from ages distant.

　　Hoover Dam Architectural style

　　The initial plans for the facade of the dam, the power plant, the outlet tunnels and ornaments clashed with the modern look of an arch dam. The Bureau of Reclamation, more concerned with the dams functionality, adorned it with a Gothic-inspired balustrade and eagle statues. This initial design was criticized by many as being too plain and unremarkable for a project of such immense scale, so Los Angeles-based architect Gordon B. Kaufmann, then the supervising architect to the Bureau of Reclamation, was brought in to redesign the exteriors. Kaufmann greatly streamlined the design, and applied an elegant Art Deco style to the entire project. He designed sculptured turrets rising seamlessly from the dam face and clock faces on the intake towers set for the time in Nevada and Arizonathe two states are in different time zones, but as Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, the clocks display the same time for more than half the year.

　　At Kaufmanns request, Denver artist Allen Tupper True was hired to handle the design and decoration of the walls and floors of the new dam. Trues design scheme incorporated motifs of the Navajo and Pueblo tribes of the region. Although some initially were opposed to these designs, True was given the go-ahead and was officially appointed consulting artist. With the assistance of the National Laboratory of Anthropology, True researched authentic decorative motifs from Indian sand paintings, textiles, baskets and ceramics. The images and colors are based on Native American visions of rain, lightning, water, clouds, and local animalslizards, serpents, birdsand on the Southwestern landscape of stepped mesas. In these works, which are integrated into the walkways and interior halls of the dam, True also reflected on the machinery of the operation, making the symbolic patterns appear both ancient and modern.

　　With the agreement of Kaufmann and the engineers, True also devised an innovative color coding for the pipes and machinery, which was implemented throughout all BOR projects. Trues consulting artist job lasted through 1942; it was extended so he could complete design work for the Parker, Shasta and Grand Coulee dams and power plants. Trues work on the Hoover Dam was humorously referred to in a poem published in The New Yorker, part of which read, lose the spark, and justify the dream; but also worthy of remark will be the color scheme.

　　Complementing Kaufmann and Trues work, the Norwegian-born, naturalized American sculptor Oskar J.W. Hansen designed many of the sculptures on and around the dam. His works include the monument of dedication plaza, a plaque to memorialize the workers killed and the bas-reliefs on the elevator towers. In his words, Hansen wanted his work to express the immutable calm of intellectual resolution, and the enormous power of trained physical strength, equally enthroned in placid triumph of scientific accomplishment. because The building of Hoover Dam belongs to the sagas of the daring. Hansens dedication plaza, on the Nevada abutment, contains a sculpture of two winged-figures flanking a flagpole. Surrounding the base of the monument is a terrazzo floor embedded with a star map. The map depicts the Northern Hemisphere sky at the moment of President Roosevelts dedication of the dam. This is intended to help future astronomers, if necessary, calculate the exact date of dedication. The 30 feet high bronze figures, dubbed Winged Figures of the Republic, were each formed in a continuous pour. To put such large bronzes into position without marring the highlypolished bronze surface, they were placed on ice and guided into position as the ice melted. Hansens bas-relief on the Nevada elevator tower depicts the benefits of the dam: flood control, navigation, irrigation, water storage, and power. The bas-relief on the Arizona elevator depicts, in his words: the visages of those Indian tribes who have inhabited mountains and plains from ages distant.