The museum is housed in the Boulder Dam Hotel, which was originally built in 1933 to host dignitaries, officials, and engineers visiting the dam project.
Boulder City was one of the only places in Nevada where gambling was strictly prohibited during the dam's construction, a policy that remains a local tradition today.
The collection features extensive oral histories recorded from the 'dam stiffs,' the laborers who faced hazardous working conditions during the project.
The museum documents the specific role of the Bureau of Reclamation in managing both the construction site and the town’s development.
Exhibits explain how the town transitioned from a federal government-owned construction camp to an incorporated city in 1960.
The Boulder City-Hoover Dam Museum focuses on the social history of the workers who constructed the Hoover Dam during the Great Depression. Located within the historic Boulder Dam Hotel, the museum archives the personal stories and living conditions of the thousands of men and families who settled in Boulder City. Exhibits include original artifacts, interactive kiosks, and photographs detailing the transition from a government-built construction camp to an independent municipality. The collection highlights the extreme environmental challenges and the engineering ingenuity required to build the dam in the remote Black Canyon. Visitors can examine the tools, clothing, and documents that defined the daily lives of laborers and their supervisors in the 1930s.
The historic, vintage-style lobby of the Boulder Dam Hotel just outside the museum entrance.
Combine your visit with a walk through the surrounding historic district to see the original 1930s architecture.
Look for the display regarding the secret tunnels and the 'ragtown' settlements where workers lived before housing was completed.
Check out the lobby of the Boulder Dam Hotel, which contains additional historical memorabilia and a gallery.
Do not mistake this for the visitor center at the Hoover Dam itself; this museum focuses on the social history of the people rather than the technical mechanics of the dam.
Closed on major holidays.
