Boulder City

The historic company town built for Hoover Dam workers — and one of only two Nevada cities where gambling is illegal.

About Boulder City

Boulder City was planned and built by the federal government in 1931 to house the 5,000-plus workers constructing Hoover Dam. When the dam was completed in 1936, the town stayed. It incorporated in 1960 on the condition — written into the city charter — that gambling and the sale of alcohol remain banned; the alcohol ban was lifted in 1969, but the gambling prohibition still stands, making Boulder City one of only two Nevada municipalities where you can’t legally bet. The historic district along Nevada Way preserves the original 1930s layout, with low-slung commercial buildings, the Boulder Dam Hotel (now a museum), and walkable blocks of antique shops and cafés. The Nevada State Railroad Museum runs a restored Union Pacific excursion on weekends. Most visitors swing through on the way to Hoover Dam or Lake Mead, which is a shame — an hour in the historic district is worth the detour, and lunch at the Coffee Cup or Milo’s beats anything on the Boulder Dam concession stand.