Construction of the Hoover Dam began on July 7, 1930, marking the beginning of the creation of one of the largest manmade structures in the world.
According to History.com, it took five years to build the dam, which generates enough energy each year to serve over one million people.
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On the 85th anniversary of the start of the dam's construction, we thought we'd take a look at some iconic photos of the structure.
See those below:
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An inspection party near the proposed site of the Hoover Dam (aka Boulder Dam) in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, circa 1928.
General Photographic Agency / Getty Images
Black Canyon on the Boulder river in Colorado before work starts on the construction of the Boulder Dam aka Hoover Dam.
Underwood Archives / Getty Images
Sign showing where the edge of Lake Meade will be upon completion of Boulder Dam, Nevada, late 1920s. It was renamed Hoover Dam in 1947.
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Ethel Ziegler, American painter, presents a model of Boulder Dam, the biggest dam being built in the west and shown at the annual fair in Los Angeles, California on September 29, 1933.
Associated Press
Construction continues Jan. 9, 1932 as workers construct the retaining wall that gives support to the road leading over the top of Hoover Dam.
Associated Press
This general view of Black Canyon on the Colorado River, looking upstream toward the site of Hoover Dam, shows a temporary steel suspension bridge in the foreground and portals of the 56-inch diversion tunnel bores which will carry the river water while the dam is under construction, March 12, 1932.
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Associated Press
Inside of diversion tunnel no. 3, on the boulder dam project, showing concreting operations, July 9, 1934. The intersection of the inclined tunnel from the intake tower (above) with the present diversion which is being plugged. These tunnels will carry the 30-foot diameter steel penstocks for the power system.
Associated Press
More than 700 feet over the Colorado River bed, workers put the finishing touches on the Hoover Dam on Aug. 12, 1931.
Associated Press
This is an aerial view of one of the four intake towers of the Hoover Dam, Aug. 9, 1934. The towers, two on each side of the canyon upstream from the dam, will measure at 380 feet high.
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The Boulder Dam on the Arizona - Nevada border in 1936.
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The turbines inside Hoover Dam in 2013.
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Pete McLeod of Canada flies in formation with Nigel Lamb of Great Britain, Martin Sonka of the Czech Republic and Kirby Chambliss of the United States during a Recon flight prior to the seventh stage of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship over the Hoover Dam on October 09, 2014 on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada.
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This April 13, 2014 view shows Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada.
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A tall bleached 'bathtub ring' is visible behind the Hoover Dam on May 12, 2015 in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, Lake Mead, which was once the largest reservoir in the nation, has seen its surface elevation drop below 1,080 feet above sea level, its lowest level since the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s.