In this black-and-white photograph taken in 1934, a massive pipe hangs suspended across Black Canyon as Hoover Dam rises below. A lone worker kneels inside it, nearly invisible against the scale of the engineering project unfolding around him. Ninety-two years later, this image is helping illuminate a defining chapter in the nation’s history.
This photo, from UNLV Special Collections & Archives, has been selected for the Society of American Archivists 250 for the 250th initiative, a national digital repository highlighting materials that tell the story of the United States through its archival record.
Sarah Quigley, director of Special Collections & Archives and chair of the SAA America 250 Task Force, chose the image for the nuanced view of American and Nevada history it offers.
“It documents more than the construction of the dam. It captures a project that brought thousands of workers to Southern Nevada during the Great Depression, helped fuel the growth of Las Vegas, and transformed the region's economy,” she said.
But the image also points to dangerous working conditions, discriminatory hiring practices, and the displacement of communities following the creation of Lake Mead.
Housed in the Robert Woodruff Photograph Collection, the image has been carefully preserved, digitized, and described by Special Collections & Archives so that researchers, students, and the public can continue to learn from it. Its inclusion in 250 for the 250th demonstrates how local archival collections help connect regional experiences to the national story, Quigley said.
“Our collections contain rich and diverse stories of the individuals and groups who made our city what it is, from the visionaries who saw the potential of a desert oasis like Las Vegas to the workers who built the infrastructure and brought the vision to life,” she said. “As archivists, our purpose is to preserve evidence of the myriad histories within our community and every member of our community deserves to see their history represented in the archives.”
Projects like 250 for the 250th demonstrate that understanding the past depends on institutions committed to preserving and sharing the historical record. Every photograph, letter, map, and document in an archive has the potential to illuminate a larger story and connect local history to the national narrative.
“As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, this 1934 image serves as a reminder that archives do more than preserve the past,” Quigley said “They help future generations understand it."
