Monday, May 22, 2017

Boulder City etc.....

Finally going to get around to writing about our day in Boulder City. But first....
Yesterday I used my more or less new Copper Chef deep frying pan to bake bread in the oven. The recipe came with the pan - the bread dough I bought frozen. Defrosted it overnight in refrig then put it in the pan and let it raise, topped it with olive oil, sea salt, minced garlic, rosemary and grated parmesan cheese. Yummy - will make it again. We had warm bread and butter for dinner last night! Two loafs fit in the pan. 
So back to Boulder City. This link is very interesting. A lot of history in the town built for the workers on the dam. The city of Los Angeles owned a lot of the property there for years. I wish I'd read the article before we went there. 
Entering the Historic District. Usually we turn left here and head for Arizona. 
 A couple of 40 or 50's era motels still kept up and in use. 
 I think there was an El Rancho in every town on old 66. We've seen a lot of them. 

Getting close to "downtown ." Boulder City, built to house the workers who came to work on the dam, holds national significance as the first fully developed experiment in new town planning in the 20th Century. The town site was on federally owned land and title to all land was retained by the federal government under the Bureau of Reclamation. 
The downtown has many, many statues. A lot depicting the lives of the workers and another bunch of just art.  

 An interesting building.
Beginning in 1931 permits began to be issued by Sims Ely, the City Manager, for commercial buildings in the city. By 1932 the view north on Nevada Way toward the Bureau of Reclamation Building on the hill looked much as it does today.
The Boulder Theater building / 1225 Arizona Street, built in 1932 by Earl Brothers, and the connected Uptown Hardware building (1229 Arizona Street and continuing south on Hotel Plaza), built in 1939, are examples of large single buildings of a common style, housing multiple businesses, with well proportioned matching arcades. 
 Another sculpture of dam workers. The dam was completed in 1936, 22 months ahead of schedule because of the management skills of Frank T. Crowe, one of the most competent construction engineers to work in Reclamation

 In front of one of the cafes.
 Mural on wall. 
 There are wild goats in the hills around Boulder.
 No explanation for this. 
Maybe something to do with this monument right across the street. 
 The building that was Ida Browder’s Café, at 552 Nevada Way, was built in 1931 and had expanded south to the corner of Ash Street and Nevada Way by 1940 to include 554 and 558 Nevada Way. Today, the diner at the corner is the only part of the original complex to remain in business as a café. • The café is the oldest remaining commercial building in the city and Ida Browder was the city’s first businesswoman. Murals on the building. 






Another not sure what it is besides interesting. A group of people visiting I guess. 
 It continues to surprise me what one can find in and around Las Vegas, if they just look.  Another mural.
 Remember these. The flattened penny and the fortune teller.

 The Monumental Professor - an owl, glasses and books. 
 There is a lot of work in this one. Wish there wasn't so much background interference.



 I like this one. 



 Cute and different
 Another tribute to the workers
 Something for everyone - I think that says "Dead cows on sale here." Hummmm?
And I think I'll stop here and leave more of Boulder City for tomorrow. 
We will finally get our RV back from the dealer tomorrow. Then will have to clean it and put our new mattress in it. That should be fun - it is in a big box that weighs 85 pounds! Also leaving my sewing machine off to have the lights on it fixed and get a good cleaning. And every day we practice with the drone and its camera. Here we are in the shade of the garage taking a picture of ourselves with the drone. And that is a whole other story - our adventures with the drone. 



2 comments:

Janet said...

We love Boulder! Think it would be nice to have one of the old houses with green lawn in old Boulder. Green grass, not something you see much of in the desert. If you go back have an Ice cream in the store behind Zoltar and a meal at the Southwest Diner. If any of your readers are Elks it is great place to stay and there is a BBQ place right down the street.

Carol and Bill said...

Was thinking of you guys while writing this. In fact you telling me about it was the reason we went there. Glad we did.