Winged Figures of the Republic (In Transition)

Boulder City, Nevada

If you were planning to go out of your way to rub any statue for good luck, this set of seated, otherworldly giants makes the most sense. Not far from Las Vegas, the "Winged Figures of the Republic" are iconic sculptures on the Nevada end of the Hoover Dam.

With wings about 30 feet tall, they may be angels, or demons... or far-future humans, still benefiting from the energy output of a structure engineered for the Ages.

Sculptor Oskar Hansen, responsible for most of the dam's various heroic and mythical artwork, made the figures from more than four tons of bronze. They sit on bases of black diorite, flanking a 142 ft. high flag pole. This stylish monument to the dam was dedicated in 1935.

The figures have weathered to a green patina, but the toes are burnished to a soft gold by countless tourist hands.

In an odd astrological touch, the monument is surrounded by a terrazzo floor with a celestial chart which shows the exact position of key stars on the day the Hoover Dam was dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt. The star map would assist a future civilization of giant flying humans to pinpoint the date as September 30, 1935.