You can also explore displays of Lake Mead’s ecology and wildlife, and browse the well-stocked gift shop. Inside the visitor center, you can see a large, amazingly detailed relief map of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. That’s a unique honor for a historic building. The renovations include nine solar panels, earning the Visitor Center a silver rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The building was originally constructed in 1966, and has recently been renovated. Boulder City is also one of only two cities in Nevada that doesn’t allow gambling.įour miles before you get to Boulder City, on Highway 93, the Alan Bible Visitor Center for Lake Mead is worth a stop. This was based on the quality of affordable housing, tax rates, medical care, and arts and leisure. In fact, Money magazine named Boulder City as number 6 in its 2009 list for the top 25 best places to retire in the US. Today, Boulder City has a pleasant, small-town atmosphere close to the big city of Las Vegas. The abundance of landscaped greenery earned Boulder City the nickname “Nevada’s Garden City.” This emphasis on green landscaping was a part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s “mission to reclaim and ‘green’ the American West.”

The design had an emphasis on clean, outdoor living, with lots of beautifully landscaped public space. Since the Hoover Dam project represented a glimmer of optimism during the Great Depression, the town of Boulder City was also designed to be a focal point of optimism. Boulder City was consequently a carefully planned, model community, supervised by the federal government. This ramshackle community was known as “Ragtown.” However, the sheer size and long-term aspect of the Hoover Dam project necessitated better housing for the workers. Before the construction of Boulder City, the men seeking work on the dam had settled along the Colorado River in tents. Just take US-515 or US-215 to US-11, and finally, get onto US-93 to get there.īoulder City was conceived and built-in 1931 as a planned community for the workers who were building the Hoover Dam. Boulder City is just 25-miles to the southeast of Las Vegas, and it’s not only the gateway to Hoover Dam, it’s a destination in itself.

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