Construction of Hoover Dam began exactly 80 years ago today. At 726′ high and 1,244′ long, how thick do you think the dam is?

I read a This Day in History blurb that asked how long a two-lane concrete highway could be paved with the amount of concrete in Hoover Dam. Actually, the site asked if a highway started in New York, what city would it reach?

I’m embarrassed to say I thought an average of 72′ (three two-lane highways) might be right. At a 9″ concrete road thickness, that yields about 700 miles, so I guessed Atlanta. When I looked at the website to verify my guess, I was amazed to see the dam thickness to be 660′ at the base and 45′ at the top.

So a road could easily be paved to San Francisco.

As I searched for that answer, I learned a few things about President Herbert Hoover. He was geologist and mining engineer in California and then Australia. He married his college sweetheart from Stanford and they then moved to China, where he became one of the chief engineers. During the Boxer Rebellion, his wife worked in hospitals while he directed the building of barricades and he risked his life to save a group of Chinese children.

Hoover became bored making money and found a new calling as WWI began in 1914. He spent the next two years working 14 hour days helping distribute food and supplies to some 9M war victims. Hoover loved technology and efficient organization and used his skills in these areas to get the work done well. When the USA entered WWI in 1917, President Wilson appointed Hoover the head of the American Food Administration.

I particularly liked the following passage from the Hoover article:

“Hoover believed that, “food will win the war.” He established days to encourage people to not eat certain foods in order to save them for the soldiers: meatless Mondays, wheatless Wednesdays, and “when in doubt, eat potatoes.” These days helped conserve food for the war. He succeeded in cutting consumption of food needed overseas and avoided rationing at home (dubbed “Hooverizing” by government propagandists, although Hoover himself continually – and with little success – gave orders that publicity should not mention him by name, but rather should focus entirely on the Food Administration itself).”

The more I read about Hoover, the more I liked him. He pushed hard for Hoover Dam, being an engineer that understood the long-term benefits. He acquiesced to the naming of the dam after him, though didn’t much care when FDR had the named changed to Boulder Dam. Years later, an almost unanimous congressional vote changed the name back to Hoover Dam. To which Hoover replied, “I have never regarded the name as important. The important thing is a gigantic engineering accomplishment that will bring happiness to millions of people.”

So Happy Birthday Hoover Dam and congratulations Herbert Hoover for a life well lived. If you ever get a chance (by which I mean, try to make a chance), go tour the splendid Hoover Dam.