Hoover Dam Shapes the West!

Jim Ballinger, Director Emeritus, of the Phoenix Art Museum, brings his unparalleled expertise to a captivating exploration of the Hoover Dam's photographic history—revealing how America's most ambitious depression era construction projects was documented from its earliest days in the 1930s.

Located on the Colorado River near Boulder City, Nevada the Hoover Dam rose from the desert as the largest construction project of its time, ultimately creating Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir.

Ballinger traces the dramatic early efforts to control the river's destructive floods, including the catastrophic 1905 event that diverted the Colorado into the Salton Basin for two years and formed California's Salton Sea. Through rare images and insider insight, he illustrates how the dam's massive arch‑gravity design shaped the Southwest, enabled irrigation, generated hydropower, and forever transformed the landscape.

This engaging presentation, includes photos made by Ansel Adams, Margaret Bourke-White, and Edward Weston; and offers audiences a vivid visual journey behind one of the most iconic engineering feats in American history.

The session will conclude with Q&A.

This public event is co-hosted by Artlink and AZPA during Art Detour, and will be held either in the mood room at Park Central or outdoors at Artlink’s courtyard depending upon registration.

Learn more about AZPA and memberships.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

By registering for this event, you agree to hold harmless Arizona Photography Alliance (AZPA), its board, officers and members, and the event hosts, from any occurrence that might happen during the event. The views and opinions expressed by event hosts and/or presenters belong solely to event those hosts and/or presenters and do not reflect any official policy or position of Arizona Photography Alliance, its board of directors, its members, or event volunteers.

Please note that by registering for this event, your contact information will be added to the master AZPA mailing list, and any photographs taken at AZPA events may be used for marketing purposes. You may opt-out of either at any time by notification to AZPA. When we have a virtual event, it is usually recorded. If you do not wish to participate in the recording, please have your video turned off.

In accordance with current public health or venue guidelines, in-person attendees may be required to wear masks, maintain appropriate social distance, and be respectful of others at the event.

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Host or Publisher Arizona Photography Alliance