89 years ago today: Construction begins on Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam, formerly called Boulder Dam, is the dam in Black Canyon on the Colorado River, at the Arizona-Nevada border. Built between 1930 and 1936, it's the highest concrete arch dam in the United States. It impounds Lake Mead, which extends for 115 miles (185 km) upstream and is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. The dam is used for flood and silt control, hydroelectric power, agricultural irrigation, and domestic water supply. It is also a major sightseeing destination, with some seven million visitors a year.

It seems strange that one of the country's most impressive feats is named after one of its least beloved presidents. Herbert Hoover is understood to have only earned the honor through a political publicity stunt. In 1930, Secretary of the Interior Wilbur travelled to the site to mark the official opening of the dam construction. He took advantage of the event to declare, "I have the honor and privilege of giving a name to this new structure....it shall be called the Hoover Dam."

In other words, Wilbur named the dam after his boss. As Hoover was already widely maligned for his part in kicking off the Great Depression, the name was hotly contested. Wilbur's successor, Harold Ickes, was a particularly vocal critic, and in 1933 he switched the in-progress structure's name to "Boulder Dam."

In 1947 President Truman signed a congressional resolution restoring the structure's formal name to official use.