The James Cashman Sr. Photograph Collection (approximately 1905 to 1975) consists of black-and-white photographic prints, negatives, slides, and albums as well as a glass plate negative. The photographs depict four major subjects: Cashman's family, friends, and associates; Cashman's businesses; the Hoover Dam and Colorado River; and various locations across Nevada.

The Ray Cutright Collection of Winthrop A. Davis Photographs (approximately 1929-1939) consists of black-and-white photographic prints with some corresponding negatives and slides of the construction of Hoover Dam and the geographic terrain of southern Nevada during the early 1930s. Included are photographs of the geographic area around the dam site, Black Canyon, and Boulder City, Nevada. Photographs depict the construction of facilities and roads needed for the project.

The L. F. Manis Photographs contain photographic prints, photographic slides, and photographic negatives depicting Southern Nevada from approximately 1900 to 1969, with a bulk of the materials dating from 1930 to 1940. The photographs primarily depict the construction, dedication, and various parts of the Hoover (Boulder) Dam, including the dam's upstream and downstream faces, intake towers, spillways, bridges, crest, outlet works, visitors' accommodations, and powerhouse. The photographs also depict Lake Mead, the reservoir created by the Hoover Dam, and the Colorado River, which is dammed by the Hoover Dam. The photographs also include views of desert landscapes in the Southwestern United States, including in Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California. Also depicted in the photographs are the cities of Las Vegas, Nevada and Boulder City, Nevada, including prominent buildings like hotels, casinos, government buildings, and train depots.

The Wayne Cronister Photograph Collection depicts towns in Southern Nevada from 1905 to 1950. The photographs primarily depict Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Nevada and the construction of the Hoover (Boulder) Dam on the Colorado River. The photographs also include the Union Pacific Railroad Depot in Las Vegas, Nevada, the abandoned town of Rhyolite, Nevada, and a mining camp in El Dorado Canyon.

The Burrell C. Lawton Photograph Collection on the Hoover Dam depicts the construction of the Hoover (Boulder) Dam on the Colorado River near Las Vegas, Nevada from 1931 to 1934. The photographs primarily depict workers, construction equipment, and the progression of the dam's concrete structures. The photographs also depict construction of diversion tunnels, bridges, the gravel plant, the intake towers, and the concrete mixing plant.

The Murl Emery Photograph Collection consists of seventeen black-and-white photographic reprints of ferries and recreational activities near Searchlight, Nevada on the Colorado River taken from approximately 1910 to 1946, and reprinted from approximately 1970 to 2004.

The Elbert Edwards Photograph Collection contains photographs of Nevada from 1852 to 1991. The collection has a wide variety of photographs, including: white pioneers and settlers; early Nevada towns; Nevada politicians; early Las Vegas landmarks; Boulder City schools; petroglyphs from Nevada's indigenous populations; Lost City and Lake Mead; railroads; the Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam); Basic Magnesium Inc. in Henderson, Nevada; geographical features; the Edwards family; and photographs of Elbert Edwards's participation in the Las Vegas Education Association and the Rotary Club.