Boulder City High School has a rich history and tradition that is reflected in the school’s Profile. An understanding of who we are would not be complete without an understanding of our history.
Boulder City High School is a school with strong community support. Many of the town residents are alumni of the school whose children and grandchildren attend Boulder City High School.
Our History
When workers for the building of the Hoover Dam arrived in Boulder City in 1931, no provisions existed for a school or for transportation of children to Las Vegas schools. Boulder City pioneers began a school in a small company house near the end of Avenue B. Wives of workers volunteered to teach. The families who sent their children to school were charged $1.00 a week for tuition and had to furnish books for their children.
During the 1932 year, the number of children attending the small grade school grew from 19 students to five hundred. Because of the rapid growth, Congress appropriated $70,000 for a school building in Boulder City. The Boulder City School District was created on August 28, 1933 by the Clark County Commissioners.
High school students from Boulder City attended Las Vegas High School beginning in 1933 because there was no room in the overcrowded Boulder City Elementary School. While attending Las Vegas High School from 1933 until 1942, there was a special Boulder City Yearbook, The Boulder City Echo, which featured Boulder City students. The Boulder City High School yearbook, Aquila, has been in publication since 1943 when Boulder City opened its first high school.
In 1941, a high school was built in Boulder City which contained a small gym, five classrooms, a small library, and one science laboratory. Boulder City’s first senior class graduated in May, 1942, and the first high school yearbook was The Aquila. The school became overcrowded and additional classes were held in a concrete bunker, the American Legion Hall, and in two abandoned buildings of an army camp.
In 1952, a new junior-senior high school was finished at Boulder City High School’s current location.
The 1951 Boulder City High School Student Council at a library table. The same library tables have been refinished and are currently used in the Boulder City High School Library although the tables are in the new library which is located in the remodeled gym.
In 1958, Boulder City schools were incorporated into the Clark County School District. Because Boulder City schools had been better-equipped than most public schools in the county, when Clark County School District took over, the schools in Boulder City were not allowed to upgrade their equipment until the rest of the county caught up. Some equipment from Boulder City High School was taken to other Clark County schools.
Because of the need for a theatre at the high school, in 1962, the Ford Foundation provided funds to build a contemporary-design theatre on the east side of the high school. The picture shows the interior of the auditorium.
During the spring and summer of 1987, Boulder City High School was part of an upgrade project funded by the Clark County School District Bond Funds. Rooms were painted, gold carpet was replaced with blue carpet, and olive green drapes were replaced with vertical blinds. The library was remodeled with a new circulation desk. In 2001, a new auto shop, a band/orchestra room, and new science classrooms were added to the exterior of the old gym. A new double gym was constructed allowing for two basketball or volleyball games to be played simultaneously. The new gym also included a weight room, wrestling room, locker rooms, offices and a dance room.
Boulder City High School went through further renovations. In 2001, after the new gym was completed, the 1951 gymnasium with remodeling became the library/technology center. A Library Conference Room and technology classrooms were also added.
Boulder City Community Characteristics
Boulder City is a small community located 20 miles from the glitter and glamour of Las Vegas and a few miles from Hoover Dam. Boulder City offers a quiet, relaxed living environment. The growth of the community has been limited to less than 3% per year by a growth ordinance. With a population of just over 16,000, Boulder City residents live in a small-town atmosphere with a low crime rate and high quality police and fire protective services.
Boulder City prides itself on quality recreational facilities such as golf courses, a year-round swimming pool, tennis courts, mountain bike trails, and hiking trails which offer residents and visitors a full range of recreational activities. Boulder City’s proximity to the Lake Mead Recreational Area offers camping, fishing, boating, water skiing, hiking, biking and photography opportunities.
Boulder City is an active community with special events scheduled throughout the year. Annual events include the Clark County Art Show, Spring Jamboree, Folk Festival, 4th of July Damboree celebration and parade, Chautauqua, Rattlin’ Rails Handcar Races, Wurstfest, Art in the Park, Country Store, and Christmas Electric Light Parade, Doodlebug Bazaar and other festivities.
Boulder City was initially created to house the workers who built Hoover Dam, and as such, was a significant and integral part of the successful completion of the Boulder Canyon Project. Constructed in 1931 in the midst of the Great Depression, Boulder City was conceived by the federal government as an ideal town, a “model” city to which the American people could look to a better future.
Current Boulder City Chamber of Commerce data indicates that the community is fairly stable with 66% of the population living here longer than 11 years. Eighty-six percent of the population is either employed or retired.
Education is valued by the community. Within the adult population, 4% have high school experience only, 21% have completed high school, 36% have some college, 20% have completed college, 7% have some graduate experience, and 12% have completed a graduate degree.
Yearly income per household shows that 11% of household incomes are under $20,000, 28% range between $20,000-$49,999, 24% range between $50,000-$74,999, 15% ranged between $75,000-$99,999, and 22% are $100,000 and above. The median income for a household in the city is $60,995.
Today, as the city with the largest geographical area in Nevada and the only city in Nevada with no gaming, Boulder City continues to provide the service, commitment, and family-oriented atmosphere that its founders envisioned over 70 years ago.
