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All the United States Nevada Boulder City Winged Figures of the Republic

Winged Figures of the Republic

A Norwegian-born sculptor created these soaring guardian angels at the entrance to Hoover Dam.

Boulder City, Nevada

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The figures have aged to a greenish patina.   Mike Durkin
Angels at the Hoover Dam   Martin McKeay
The figures soar 30 feet tall.   CGP Grey
Figure detail.   H Dragon
Angel toes, rubbed for good luck by visitors to the Dam.   Gordon Wrigley
Oskar Hansen’s memorial to the men lost during construction next to the Winged Figures sculpture.   NortyNort
The “star map” floor at the base of the sculpture.   Jeremy Faludi
Detail of the star map at the base of the sculpture.   Jeremy Faludi
“Winged Figures of the Republic.”   Raquel Baranow
One of the two “Winged Figures” by Oskar J.W. Hansen, on the Nevada side of the dam.   Matthew Hoelscher
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
The angels are verdigris patina not gunmetal patina which would be grey.   diracdelta.co.uk
One of the two art deco angels.   Babs81 / Atlas Obscura User
  cshell2 / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
  darabrown3237 / Atlas Obscura User
  darabrown3237 / Atlas Obscura User
  darabrown3237 / Atlas Obscura User
  darabrown3237 / Atlas Obscura User
  g9gjbftxzm / Atlas Obscura User
  Justin V / Atlas Obscura User
Winged figures of the Republic   Fee Galla / Atlas Obscura User
  drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
  drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
  drchrisstout / Atlas Obscura User
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From below   underlircs / Atlas Obscura User
Side profile   underlircs / Atlas Obscura User
  alvarado678 / Atlas Obscura User
  Dr Alan P Newman / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Two soaring figures flank a 142-foot flagpole at the Hoover Dam Visitors Center, aged to the verdigris patina that clings to bronze after years in the elements. The figures are ripped with muscles, raising their arms to extended wings that double their height, hitting over 30 feet, while their toes have been rubbed smooth and golden by millions of hands looking for good luck.

The figures are sentries at the entrance to Hoover Dam, part angel, part symbol of the strength of man, they are the work of a sculptor named Oskar J.W. Hansen, a Norwegian immigrant who came to the United States after some time in the merchant marines. He became a citizen and joined the Army, and after he left the service, embarked on a long career as an artist and sculptor.

As the dam was nearing completion, Hansen entered a sculpture competition for the public areas, and his design won. Soon the largest single-cast bronzes in the world (at the time) were installed on the Nevada side of what would later be called Hoover Dam.

Sitting on a base of highly polished jet-black stone, the figures are so large, and the stones so heavy, an ingenious method of installation was used to get their placement just right.  The square stones were lowered by crane onto big blocks of ice, which then slowly melted in the Nevada sun. The slow melt allowed for engineers to make minute adjustments in order to keep every aspect perfectly level and perfectly plumb.

Hansen’s design included a 14-story flagpole, installed between the figures and anchored deep into the bedrock below. On the ground in front of the sculptures, Hansen added a dramatic terrazzo floor of his own Art Deco design, a “star map” that was aligned exactly to the placement of the Nevada skies on the very day President Franklin Roosevelt was to dedicate the dam: September 30, 1935.

But before that presidential dedication, before construction had even begun, Hansen spoke at the unveiling of another of his designs. It would be seven years before his Winged Figures would become a reality, but he seemed to presciently speak of his symbolic angels in 1928: “Man has always sought to express and preserve the magnitude of his exploits in symbols… They form the connecting link between the spiritual and the material world. They are the shadows cast by the realities of the soul.”

Update as of May 2022: Currently, the platforms and sidewalk are under construction.

Related Tags

Sculptures Monuments Dams Art Deco

Know Before You Go

The Winged Figures are on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam, at the very end of the Access Road, just past the parking garage and across from the new Visitors Center. You can see the statues for free, but to enter the Visitors Center/Museum the cost is $10, and tours of the Dam are available for an additional fee, depending on your choice of tour. Check out the website for details.

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Edited By

CoolCrab, hana, Blindcolour, Umbragetaker...

  • CoolCrab
  • hana
  • Blindcolour
  • Umbragetaker
  • Fee Galla
  • Dr Alan P Newman
  • underlircs
  • breaingram
  • cshell2
  • darabrown3237
  • Babs81
  • drchrisstout
  • Justin V
  • alvarado678
  • g9gjbftxzm

Published

February 22, 2017

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Sources
  • https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/history/essays/artwork.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_J._W._Hansen
  • http://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/03/archives/oskar-hansen-79-liberty-sculptor.html
  • https://pakalahau.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/2012-oskar-hansens-precession-design-of-mayan-star-map-hoover-dam-part-i/
  • http://www.hinsdalelibrary.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/speech.pdf
  • Noctua-graphics.de
Winged Figures of the Republic
81 Hoover Dam Access Road
Boulder City, Nevada
United States
36.016668, -114.739078
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