Dam High Scaler Monument

Boulder City, Nevada

This larger-than life sculpture of a man scaling a rock wall represents a "high scaler." In the 1930s, fearless, eager-to-please-in-a-down-economy dam workers would dangle hundreds of feet in the air, armed with jackhammers to jar loose rocks and dynamite to blast away at the canyon walls. Lots of men died in this occupation and others in creating the immense structure that turns Lake Mead into electricity.

The bronze figure was created in the 1990s by sculptor Steven Liguori, in conjunction with a group of concessionaires who operate the businesses on government property around the landmark. The statue was based on a photo of one of the last of the high scalers then alive -- Joe Kine.

The statue was installed in 1998, and hangs against a dramatic cliff face, a spidery metal tower in the background (a conveyor that ferries dam workers and their equipment to otherwise inaccessible spots). Perhaps more importantly, it is within easy viewing distance of the High Scaler Cafe, a concession in the dam public parking structure.