Abstract
The Bob Parker Photograph Collection consists of twenty-seven black-and-white photographic prints showcasing the construction of the Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) from approximately 1930 to 1942.
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Date
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Scope and Contents Note
The Bob Parker Photograph Collection consists of twenty-seven black-and-white photographic prints showcasing the construction of the Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) from approximately 1930 to 1942. Most of the images are of the interior, showing the assembly process of the generators, turbines, and power houses.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order.
Biographical / Historical Note
Thomas Robert “Bob” Parker was born in Grand Junction, Colorado on September 28, 1913 to Robert Calvin and Georgiana Parker. In 1931 the Parker family moved from Grand Junction to Las Vegas, Nevada after a recommendation from the family physician to cure their daughter’s constant asthma and pneumonia in a warmer and drier climate. Upon arrival, Parker and his father sought employment with the new Boulder Dam Project, now known as the Hoover Dam. At the age of 17, Parker began work as a "swamper’s helper," scrubbing and mopping the floors of the mess hall in one of Six Companies Inc. residential barracks. Eventually Parker began working in the cement warehouse and mixing plant, supervising concrete and slab tests. Bob Parker died in Boulder City, Nevada on February 27, 1994.
The Boulder Dam Project began on April 20, 1931, concrete placement was completed on May 29, 1935 and all other features were completed by March 1, 1936, however power generating units continued to be added and installed through 1961.
Sources:
Andrew J. Dunbar and Dennis McBride, Building the Hoover Dam: An Oral History of the Great Depression, Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1993.
"Hoover Dam, Hydropower at Hoover Dam" Bureau of Reclamation. Accessed February 11, 2020, https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/powerfaq.html
"Hoover Dam, Frequently Asked Questions" Bureau of Reclamation. Accessed February 11, 2020, https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/damfaqs.html
Preferred Citation
Bob Parker Photograph Collection, approximately 1930-1942. PH-00271. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 1991; accession number 91-47.
Processing Note
In 2020, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Nicole Batten wrote the finding aid and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.