Hoover Dam begins trasmitting electricity to L.A.

The mighty Colorado river had an unfortunate tendency to overflow its banks during large rainstorms, making life for residents and farmers along its banks a trying affair. At the same time, most of the arid Southwest went without access to water nearby. Both of those reasons, along with the potential for generating electricity via hydroelectric power led the Herbert Hoover administration to embark on one of the largest public works projects in history.

On this day, the completed Hoover Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles, completing a dream that the Edison electric company of Los Angeles held since 1902, when electricity transmission technology did not yet allow for distances over eight miles.

While electricity production was certainly a side benefit, the main goal of the dam was to divert the Colorado river to California — turning an almost desert-like land into a farming region capable of growing food for millions. Much of the Colorado to this day waters vast stretches of Southern California farmland and runs from the faucets of Los Angeles homes.