Like with most things that seem to have been there since forever, those of us in the California/Nevada/Arizona corner of the US tend to take the Hoover Dam (originally called the Boulder Dam) for granted a bit. But at the time, its construction and completion was a really big deal, especially in terms of electrical power generation. In fact, it was such a big deal, Los Angeles gave its inauguration a parade down Broadway in downtown LA when the dam was finished in 1936. And by the looks of those wonderful photo, they pulled out all the stops.