Boulder City, Nevada
Encyclopedia
Clark County, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is approximately 20 mi (32.2 km) from the City of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. As of the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
the population of Boulder City was 15,023.
Boulder City is one of only two cities in Nevada that prohibit gambling.
History
Boulder City was originally built in 1931 by the Bureau of Reclamation and Six Companies, Inc. as housing for workers who were building Hoover DamHoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
.
Beginnings as Federal Company Town
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 RiverColorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
(known commonly until official naming in 1947 as the Boulder Dam). 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’.
The sheer scale of the Dam and duration of the project required the Bureau of Reclamation to consider the construction of a semi-permanent town rather than a temporary arrangement. Boulder City was exceptionally rare as an example of a town fully planned under government supervision. This is unlike 19th Century privately funded Company Town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
examples found in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, such as Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
or in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, such as Pullman
Pullman, Chicago
Pullman, one of Chicago's 77 community areas, is a neighborhood located on the city's South Side. Twelve miles from the Chicago Loop, Pullman is situated adjacent Lake Calumet....
, Chicago.
Early Years: 1930-1934
Boulder City was carefully planned through federal supervision as a model community with Dutch-born urban architect Saco Rienk DeBoerSaco Rienk DeBoer
Saco Rienk DeBoer , was a landscape architect and civic planner. He was the official Landscape Architect of Denver from 1910 to 1931. He also designed the planned community of Boulder City, Nevada. In 1919, he joined with another Dutchman, M. Walter Pesman to form a partnership...
contracted to plan it. DeBoer had been a planner for Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and was to design many towns and suburbs around the Rocky Mountain region. Because the Hoover Dam project itself represented a focus for optimism for a country suffering from the effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the town itself was to be an additional manifestation of this optimism. There was to be an emphasis on a clean-living environment for dam workers. The plan submitted by DeBoer in 1930 was formal and symmetrical with a park and the Bureau of Reclamation building at the termination of the two main axes. The plan was deemed too expensive to carry out in its original form and was modified to allow for more regular block sizes. Nevertheless, its allowance for public space and copious amounts of landscaping earned it the moniker “Nevada’s Garden City”. The provision of green landscape was another expression of the Bureau of Reclamation’s “mission to reclaim and ‘green’ the American West.”
The town was designed to house approximately 5,000 workers. The status of the workers on the Hoover Dam was reflected in their house sizes and locations. The most important employees had their residences on top of the hill nearer the apex. Managers were housed further down the hill and dwellings for manual laborers were located furthest away from the public buildings and parks. The most radically modified portions of DeBoer’s plan were in these lower-class residential blocks, where open space and parks were largely eliminated.
Commercial development was restricted and severely regulated under Sims Ely, the City Manager. There were limits to the number of different types of stores allowed in the city, and all who wished to begin a business were screened for character and financial viability. On the other hand, there was no provision for schools in the burgeoning City, probably because the Bureau of Reclamation expected that single male workers would populate the town. The town made do with makeshift schoolrooms until the City won the right for state funded schools to be established on the Federal Reservation upon which Boulder City was situated. No hospitals were provided in the City either. Injured workers had to travel 33 miles to Las Vegas Hospital, and when a hospital was established in the City, females were not admitted for a number of years.
Similarity to earlier company towns
Like early model Company TownCompany town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
, the workers of Boulder City were under strict monitoring – alcohol was prohibited in the town until 1969 and gambling has been prohibited since the city’s outset. Boulder Theatre, established in 1931, meant that workers were not obliged to travel to Las Vegas for amusements. Measures such as these were common for Company Towns dating back to the 19th Century, the reasoning being that sober workers surrounded by their own gardens and provided with appropriate entertainment would be more productive during their working days. In the case of Boulder City, the prohibition of alcohol and gambling was no doubt in part due to the proximity of Las Vegas which at the time was predominantly run by mobsters. Visitors to Boulder City were admitted by permit, and by 1932 there was a gatehouse through which all visitors were to pass.
Trendsetter for Decentralization
While the establishment of Boulder City occurred while Las Vegas was modest in size with approximately 5,000 inhabitants, it was effectively the beginning of the fragmentation of cities in the region of Clark CountyClark County, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...
. This move to disperse to multiple centers predated the Decentralization
Decentralization
__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...
movement of the 1970s. The nearby city of Henderson, founded in 1943 and based around the Magnesium industry was another early example of decentralization before Clark County had a significant population: “...the region began to decentralize and regroup as a multi-centered area early in its history.” The independent governments of Henderson
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
, North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, and Boulder City has perpetuated the fragmented nature of the region, giving each city its individual character, as well as generally stymieing the outward growth of these cities.
1960s Onwards
The government did not relinquish control of Boulder City until 1959, when the town was incorporated. Boulder City's incorporation ceremony took place on January 4, 1960. The city council selected pharmacist Robert N. Broadbent as the town's first mayor.The city charter, approved by the residents, prohibited gambling within the city limits. This provision still exists, making Boulder City one of only two locations in Nevada where gambling is illegal (the other is the town of Panaca
Panaca, Nevada
Panaca is a town in eastern Lincoln County, Nevada, on State Route 319, about 1 mile east of U.S. Route 93, near the border with Utah. Its elevation is 4,729 feet .-History:...
). The Hacienda Hotel and Casino
Hacienda Hotel and Casino
The Hacienda Hotel and Casino replaced the old Gold Strike Hotel and Casino which was destroyed by fire on 16 June 1998 ..The hotel is located outside the city limits of Boulder City, Nevada, which does not allow gaming, and is on a parcel of private land within the boundaries of the Lake Mead...
, which has a Boulder City mailing address, is located on a parcel of private land within the boundaries of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is located in southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. The centerpieces of the National Recreation Area are its two large reservoirs: Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. These lakes cater to boaters, swimmers, sunbathers, and fishermen while the surrounding desert rewards...
, and is not within city limits.
Another casino on the other end of town is the Railroad Pass Hotel and Casino, which has a Boulder City telephone prefix, but is within the boundary of the neighboring city of Henderson.
Alcohol sales were permitted in 1969.
The 6th best place to retire
In 2009, MoneyMoney (magazine)
Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...
magazine ranked Boulder City 6th in its annual list of the top 25 places to retire in the United States, which was based on affordable housing, medical care, tax rates and arts and leisure.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 202.7 square miles (525 km²), of which, 202.6 sq mi (524.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 sq mi (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.01%) is water. This ranks Boulder City as the largest city in Nevada by land area and 35th in the country, but gives it a low density rate of only about 78 people per square mile.
Boulder City maintains strict controls on growth, limited to 120 single- or multi-family residential
Multi-family residential
Multi-family residential is a classification of housing where multiple separate housing units for residential inhabitants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex. A common form is an apartment building...
building permits for new construction per year. Hotels are also restricted to no more than 35 rooms. These restrictions are defined in the city code of Boulder City.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 14,966 people, 6,385 households, and 4,277 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 73.9 people per square mile (28.5/km²). There were 6,979 housing units at an average density of 34.4 per square mile (13.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.54% White, 0.71% African American, 0.72% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.34% of the population.
There were 6,385 households out of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $50,523, and the median income for a family was $60,641. Males had a median income of $42,041 versus $30,385 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $29,770. About 4.7% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics
The City of Boulder City is a special charter municipality which operates under the council-manager form of government. The City Council comprises five members, including the Mayor, who acts as presiding officer for City Council meetings. The City Manager is appointed by the City Council and executes the policies and directives of the City Council.Leisure
Boulder City has two municipal golf courses (Boulder City Municipal Golf Course and Boulder Creek Golf Course), one private golf course, a city pool, racquetball complex, lit tennis courts, athletic fields, BMX bicycle track, ample mountain hiking trails, and is only a few miles away from Lake Mead. Nevada's first airport, Boulder City Municipal Airport, is still in operation today, accommodating private planes, skydiving trips, and scenic aerial tours of Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.Education
Boulder City's four public schools fall under the jurisdiction of the Clark County School DistrictClark County School District
The Clark County School District, , is the 5th largest school district in the United States. It serves all of Clark County, Nevada, including the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, and Mesquite; plus the census-designated places of Laughlin, Blue Diamond, Logandale,...
. Boulder City High School serves grades nine through twelve and has an average enrollment of 700-750 students. The school colors are navy and gold. The school mascot is the eagle. The high school academic and athletic teams compete in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) 3A South Division, with the exception of the men's and women's swimming and diving teams. For aquatic sports, the teams compete in the NIAA 4A division. Elton and Madeline Garrett Middle School serves grades six through eight. The school colors are navy and white. The school mascot is the bobcat. The athletic teams typically play an independent athletic schedule, mostly competing against local private schools with similar student enrollment populations. Martha P. King Elementary School serves grades three through five. The school colors are royal blue and gold. The school mascot is the cobra. Andrew J. Mitchell Elementary School serves grades K through two. The school colors are navy and white. The school mascot is the mustang. Boulder City is also home of one non-profit private religious elementary school, Grace Christian Academy, which offers a Christian education for grades kindergarten through six. The school is part of Grace Community Church.
Boulder City also houses a small satellite campus of the College of Southern Nevada.
Media
Until it ceased publication in 2009, the Boulder City NewsBoulder City News
Boulder City News was a weekly newspaper distributed in Boulder City, Nevada. The paper was first published in 1937. When it ceased publication, the paper was published by the Greenspun Media Group. The paper was focused on the community of Boulder City including the local sports, news and events...
was the local newspaper. Upon cessation of the Boulder City News, Stephens Media
Stephens Media (newspapers)
Stephens Media LLC is a Las Vegas, Nevada diversified media holding company that publishes over 11 daily and 64 weekly newspapers in 9 states, primarily in Nevada and Arkansas....
began a new local newspaper called the Boulder City Review http://bouldercityreview.com/. The founding editor of the Boulder City Review is Laura Michelle Ludwick.
Hoover Dam in marketing
The proximity of Hoover Dam to Boulder City is reflected in many of the businesses in the historic Downtown district, which is home to the Boulder Dam HotelBoulder Dam Hotel
The Boulder Dam Hotel, also known as the Boulder City Inn, is a hotel located in Boulder City, Nevada that is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. It was designed in the Colonial Revival style by architect Henry Smith...
, home of the Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum (the hotel is named after the dam's former name). The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce has used the slogan "Best City By A Dam Site" in promotions, and the city hosts an annual festival of short subject films dubbed "The Dam Short Film Festival
The Dam Short Film Festival
The Dam Short Film Festival is a film festival held annually in Boulder City, Nevada, typically in early February. Lee Lanier and Anita Lanier are the original co-founders of the festival. The festival is currently run by the Dam Short Film Society, a non-profit Nevada corporation...
".
Points of interest
- Alan Bible Botanical GardenAlan Bible Botanical GardenThe Alan Bible Botanical Garden is a desert botanical garden located at the Alan Bible Visitor Center, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Highway, Boulder City, Nevada, USA...
- Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum
- Hoover DamHoover DamHoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
- Lake MeadLake MeadLake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, it extends behind the dam, holding approximately of water.-History:The lake was...
- Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park
- Nevada Southern Railroad Museum
Notable residents
- May 1998 PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
playmate Deanna BrooksDeanna BrooksDeanna Brooks is an American glamour model and actress who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month in May, 1998...
was born in Boulder City in April 1974. - Boulder City residents Desi Arnaz, Jr.Desi Arnaz, Jr.Desi Arnaz, Jr. , is an American actor and musician and the son of entertainers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.-Early life:...
and his wife Amy are the owners of the Boulder Theatre, a former cinema converted into a live theatre, which is home to the Boulder City Ballet Company. - Inventor and politician Paul C. FisherPaul C. FisherPaul C. Fisher was an American inventor and politician. He invented the Fisher Space Pen. He held the patent for this invention, which is the most lucrative in the history of pens.-The Fisher Space Pen:...
(1913–2006) was the founder of the Fisher Spacepen Co., located in Boulder City.
Popular culture
The ruins of Boulder City appear in Fallout: New VegasFallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
where it was destroyed during a battle between two fictional factions called the NCR (New California Republic) and Caesar's Legion.
In the song "Highwayman
Highwayman (song)
"Highwayman" is the title of a song written by American songwriter Jimmy Webb, about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history, a highwayman, a sailor, a construction worker on the Hoover Dam, and finally as a star ship captain....
", the singer claims in the third verse to be a "dam builder" that has died in "a place called Boulder on the wild Colorado", referring to Boulder City.