Boulder City stays connected to its roots

Perched alongside a hill just minutes away from the blue waters of Lake Mead is Boulder City, a city of about 15,000 that maintains an aura of "small town charm."

As one of the nation's first master-planned communities, created by the U.S. government in the 1930s for workers at Hoover Dam, the city differs from neighboring municipalities. Unlike Henderson and Las Vegas about 20 miles to the northwest, flashy signs don't shine brightly and slot machines don't clank and beep in the city's downtown, owing to a citywide ban on gaming.

Instead, its downtown is reminiscent of Small Town America with a pedestrian-friendly shopping district, restored buildings and tree-lined streets.

Good old days

"Originally, we were primarily a government town created for the construction of Boulder Dam before we became a municipality. There were ground rules that we lived by because we were a master-planned community," said Sara Denton, a resident since 1959. "In the old days, anybody could walk from their homes to the center of town because all of the homes were built around the businesses.

"When we first moved here, I would often see a truck trimming all the trees and the lawns on our block. That was because it was government housing and they just always did it. It was kind of funny because people began to expect the service and when it stopped, some people were upset."

Longtime resident Gene Segerblom, a retired teacher and former state assemblywoman, owns one of the city's first homes to offer views of Lake Mead.

"We had one of the first homes looking down on the lake after the Bureau of Reclamation gave the land to the city. When they built the town, it was designed on the hill away from the lake. And now most of the houses being built are facing the lake," Segerblom said.

She has seen the city undergo many changes.

"When I was first hired to teach school in Boulder City in 1940, our contract said that women couldn't be married. During the war, that all changed. And when I came here to teach, every grade was housed in one building," Segerblom said.

"In our town's charter in 1960, it stated that there would be no liquor, no gaming and no prostitution. In order to change that, it would require a vote of the people. The residents later voted to allow liquor, but that barely passed."

Denton reminisced that the liquor issue created a conflict when she was organizing the community's first Art in the Park event in 1963.

"On the night before that very first Art in the Park, we had a big cocktail party at my house, but I had to have someone go buy champagne somewhere else. ... Some people were worried about having it at the party, but we decided to serve it anyway," she said laughing.

The fund-raiser, which benefits Boulder City Hospital Auxiliary, has outgrown Denton's home and is now an annual civic tradition with this year's event scheduled Oct. 6 and 7.

Community spirit

Along with numerous other residents, the women have taken active roles in community projects over the years, including the recent restoration of the Boulder Dam Hotel -- a tangible example of community spirit.

Bob Ferrence, president of the Boulder Dam Hotel Association, said the idea to restore the downtown hotel built in 1933 grew from a casual conversation in May 1993.

"It became a much bigger project than what we had ever anticipated it would be, and over the past eight years, a couple of hundred people have been active in its restoration ... The hotel is such a community project. The association is a nonprofit organization with the chamber, the city, the Boulder City Hoover Dam Museum and Boulder City Art Guild. That's kind of a unique group to join together as an owner of this facility," Ferrence said.

"There have been a lot of different people anxious to see this project succeed. It's been a real labor of love for everybody involved and it has been a real stressful thing. It hasn't been easy, but it has been rewarding for all of the people involved."

Thousands of volunteer hours and more than $2.5 million later, 22 refurbished hotel rooms were reopened in June at a ceremony where tales of some of the hotel's more famous guests during its heyday (including Bette Davis, Will Rogers, Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple) were told.

The project's funding came from myriad avenues, ranging from about $1 million in state grants, to private donations ranging from a few dollars to more than $130,000, to countless fund-raisers.

"We've had so many fund-raisers that it's hard to remember all of them. We had birdhouse auctions where residents, organizations and clubs built quite elaborate birdhouses and we auctioned them off to raise as much as $12,000 one year. The largest birdhouse I saw was a replica of the hotel and it went for $1,000," Ferrence said.

"We've also had clubs and organizations decorate donated Christmas trees, some with gifts under them that were auctioned off and we will do it again this year. We've raised anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 in one year."

"Raising the money and the restoration may have been the easy part. Now we have to make the building operational by renting the rooms. If we can't rent the rooms, then we've wasted eight years of our lives making this building operational. If we rent 12 rooms a night, we will be in good shape."

For about $75 to $100 per night, patrons receive a room, full breakfast, wine and cheese reception, and a basket of goodies. Hotel guests have easy access to the guild's art gallery, the museum, the Boulder Dam Hotel Cafe and five quaint shops, all located on the premises.

Mayor Bob Ferraro said residents becoming actively involved in the hotel project was not surprising.

"Boulder City has a lot of people who have lived here for a while and they appreciate our small town atmosphere and get involved in the community and local government. We also have a higher retired community here and they are very active in the community," the 31-year resident said.

The younger folk are also civic-minded.

"We have also had several `planting days' where members of the community plant trees and shrubbery in open spaces. Several groups have volunteered, including the Boy Scouts, and some Eagle Scouts have earned their badges through these beautification projects," Ferraro said, pointing out these projects help the city maintain its "clean and green" image.

Happy to be `home'

Segerblom and Denton love calling Boulder City home.

"I've heard from people living in Las Vegas that they've never visited Lake Mead or Hoover Dam even though they are just a short drive away. I would encourage them all to come and visit Boulder City, but I support the city's controlled growth and don't want them all to stay because I like living in a small town," Segerblom said.

Denton concurred.

"I really like living in Boulder City. Whenever I return from a trip, I am happy to return home and could never imagine living anyplace else," Denton said.

"Boulder City feels like a community. There are a lot of people who live here for their whole lives. A lot of people have moved here to be near the lake. But there is a lot more to the city than the lake."

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