Monday, March 28, 2011

Mileage from Brooklyn to Los Angeles 3908

Boulder Dam

Postmarked 28 March 1939
San Gabriel, California


Postcard Caption:
In contrast to former mighty floods that once churned the Colorado River into a muddy brown torrent though Black Canyon, the waters now flow in needed volume through tunnels within the canyon walls, and are discharged under water into the power house tail-race or through by-pass valves downstream from Boulder Dam.
Message:
3-27-39/ Today we are in Los Angeles, Cal. arrived her Mch 18th Left home Mch 3rd and drove across. Stopped several days on way - one night in Boulder City and was all through the dam. This is a beautiful county and some of former Brooklyn friends are settled here permanently. Mileage from Bklyn to Los Angeles 3908. Expect to go to San Francisco - see the fair and big trees and arrive home early in May. Regards to all/ Will and Sue F.
Not heard of Boulder Dam? You probably know it by it's current (and original) name, Hoover Dam. Since Hoover was so closely associated with the Great Depression, his name was inauspicious during the 1930s, and the name was changed to Boulder Dam. A 1947 Congressional resolution restored the original name, Hoover Dam.

While Hoover Dam enabled settlement of the Southwest, its construction and subsequent change in the path of water through the canyon has created negative environmental effects as it changed the ecosystem of the area.

Daming Dams

1 comment:

Mark S. said...

3908 miles...now that's a lot of driving. People take the reliability of cars for granted these days, but in '39 such a trip could have easily required some roadside repairs. Brave folk!

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