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Colorado River

A new bridge spans the Colorado near the dam that came to symbolize America’s great promise—and changed the American West forever

On December 21, 1928, Pres. Coolidge signed the act authorizing construction of a civilian engineering project the likes of which the world had never seen: a 726-foot-tall concrete structure that would dam the wild and flood-prone Colorado River at a cost of $49 million. By 1931, as the Great Depression continued to erode national confidence, the dam came to symbolize American resilience, can-do spirit, and know-how. On this, the 75th anniversary of the year of its dedication, Hoover Dam requires no major repairs and is universally acknowledged as one of the great examples of engineering prowess.

People visit the Grand Canyon for scenery, not architecture. But an assortment of buildings there, infused with history and the sensibility of one strong woman, are worth a long look.

If you drive West as far as you can along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, you will come to a bowl-shaped building of logs and boulders nestled into the canyon’s side.

In the red-rock country of southeastern Utah is a new national park, a quarter-million acres of silence, brilliant color, and vistas unmatched anywhere on Earth.

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