Unspecified/General

Set in the high desert about a half-hour south-east of the Las Vegas Strip, Boulder City was purpose-built in 1931 as the construction camp for the workers who built nearby Hoover Dam. Unlike the cities that grew up around it, the town was planned from the start by the United States Bureau of Reclamation as a model federal community, with broad streets, generous green parks and a strict moral code that famously banned gambling within the city limits, a prohibition that survives in modified form to this day. The Boulder City Historic District covers a substantial block of the town's original residential and commercial core. The standout building is the imposing Boulder Dam Hotel, opened in 1933 in a Dutch colonial-revival style and host over the years to figures including Howard Hughes, Bette Davis and the future King George VI. The hotel still operates today and houses a small museum dedicated to the Hoover Dam. The wider district preserves rows of original government-built bungalows, the early-1930s power administration buildings, a 1933 theatre, art-deco municipal buildings, a number of historic churches and an unusual concentration of public landscaping designed by the original federal planners. Many of the structures have been restored and now house shops, galleries, antique stores and small restaurants, lending the district a quiet, gently nostalgic feel quite unlike its rambunctious neighbour. The district is best enjoyed on foot. Self-guided walking-tour brochures, available from the visitor centre and online, point out the most significant buildings and reveal stories of the original dam workers and their families. Several memorials and plaques commemorate the dam project and those who lost their lives in its construction. A visit pairs naturally with a trip to Hoover Dam itself, just minutes down the road. Lunch and dinner options range from longstanding diners to a respectable selection of independent restaurants and breweries that have opened in the historic buildings in recent years. With its cooler high-desert temperatures and small-town feel, the district offers a genuinely refreshing break from the relentless intensity of the Las Vegas Strip.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Nevada Highway, Boulder City, Las Vegas, NV, United States

Telephone: 702-294-1611

Website: visitbouldercity.com

Opening Date: 01/01/1931