Abstract
The Alan Byron Olson Photographs (approximately 1933) consist of one negative album containing 100 photographic negatives taken by Alan Byron Olson around 1933 that depict the Hoover Dam (then known as Boulder Dam) and the Boulder City Hospital. Olson was a medic for the Boulder City Hospital and the images also depict various hospital staff and other locations related to Hoover Dam. The collection also includes digital copies of the negatives.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Alan Byron Olson Photographs (approximately 1933) consist of one negative album containing 100 photographic negatives taken by Alan Byron Olson around 1933 that depict the Hoover Dam (then known as Boulder Dam) and the Boulder City Hospital. Olson was a medic for the Boulder City Hospital and the images also depict various hospital staff and other locations related to Hoover Dam. The collection also includes digital copies of the negatives.
Access Note
The materials in this collection are unprocessed. Advanced notice is required for access. Please contact Special Collections and Archives for more information.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in the order they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
Alan Byron Olson was born in Newman Grove, Nebraska on July 15, 1912. After high school, he moved to Idaho where he worked for the Morrison-Knudsen Construction Company. When construction began on Hoover (Boulder) Dam in 1931, he moved to Boulder City, Nevada and worked as a timekeeper and transporting injured workers to Las Vegas in an ambulance. He later opened a used furniture store in Boulder City. It was here where he took photographs of the dam's construction, workers, and the nearby city.
Olson went on to study at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and lived there with his wife, Catherine Baker, whom he married July 11, 1941. Alan served in the United States Army during World War II and later moved his family to Oregon. He ran a photography business in Oregon while simultaneously working at Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). He worked with the OLCC for twenty years before retiring. Alan Byron Olson passed away August 25, 1987.
Source:
Correspondence with donor's son, Alan Byron Olson II.
Preferred Citation
Alan Byron Olson Photographs, approximately 1933. PH-00457. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/f1m77r
Permalink
Acquisition Note
Materials were donated by Jonathan Olson in 2023; accession number 2023-075.
Processing Note
In 2023, Tammi Kim accessioned the collection. In 2023, Celene Chavez created an inventory using the description provided by the photographer. Sarah Jones updated the finding aid in ArchivesSpace, renamed the digital files, and rehoused the photograph album.