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Though Boulder City survived the Great War without much damage, the NCR intentionally razed most of the town with a series of explosions during the Battle of Hoover Dam.Fallout: New Vegas loading screens

Boulder City is a location in the Mojave Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background

Pre-War

Originally little more than a collection of ramshackle tents and sheds established along the river to house the workers building Hoover Dam, then called Boulder Dam, in 1930, Boulder City was established to provide adequate housing and services to the five thousand people working on the dam. Formally founded in 1931, as work began on the dam, it was a publicly owned company town operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and Six Companies, Inc. and was intended to be a model community. This included entrepreneur vetting, special permits for visitors, and a strict ban on alcohol according to the Prohibition. The city would not be incorporated until later in the century and would remain relatively small and contained, like the nearby Henderson.

Post-War

Largely a peripheral town by the late 21st century, this ensured that Boulder City survived the Great War almost unscathed, becoming a frontier, sleepy town functioning in relative stability until 2277 and the First Battle of Hoover Dam between the New California Republic from the West and Caesar's Legion from the East. After vacating the citizen residents, NCR Rangers packed the town's structures with high explosives, intending to use it as a massive booby trap against the Legion's forces led by the Malpais Legate. When the bulk of the legionnaires entered the town, lured in by Chief Hanlon's tactical retreat, the explosives were detonated and wiped them out, though at the cost of many Rangers' lives as well. For the price of a single town, the NCR effectively broke the back of the Legion's offensive and forced the remnants to retreat in disgrace back across the Colorado River. Following the conflict, the Boulder City Memorial was erected outside the ruins where the NCR's victory was cemented, paying homage to the troopers who fell during the battle.[Non-game 1][1]

For Boulder City itself, however, nearly the entire town was leveled in the battle, sparing only the concrete mixing yard, the Boulder City train station, and the Big Horn Saloon. In the following years, the ruins became a stopover town for caravans as well as a source of concrete the NCR capitalized on to build up additional fortifications along their side of the Colorado, produced using limestone shipped in by train from Quarry Junction. Recently, however, the concrete shipments have dried up due to the quarry being infested by a pack of deathclaws, preventing workers from mining the limestone needed to produce it, causing Boulder City's to leave seeking other employment,[2][3] leaving only Ike, the Big Horn Saloon's bartender, as the only permanent resident.[4]

In 2281, on their way back to New Vegas, Benny and a group of Great Khans including Jessup and McMurphy were forced to take shelter in Boulder City after getting into conflict with an NCR patrol led by Lt. Monroe, eventually sequestering in a hideout within the ruined section with a pair of hostages, Pvt. Ackerman and Pvt. Gilbert, though Benny himself managed to slip away back to Vegas with the platinum chip, leaving the Great Khans trapped.

Layout

Situated west of the Hoover Dam and southeast of the 188 Trading Post, the portions of town that are not demolished are small, and the town is nearly deserted. The concrete works and the Boulder City train station sit on the northern edge together with a locomotive sitting on the tracks. Boulder City is one of the few places in the Mojave with an abundance of ravens, but only one permanent resident. There is a traveling merchant who travels between the Big Horn Saloon and the El Dorado Gas & Service along the highway to the west, sometimes lingering by the train station. Upon arriving at the town for the first time, one may encounter Victor, who will express his surprise and excitement with seeing the Courier once more.

The entrance road leads into the town and the sole intact building, the Big Horn Saloon. The ruins of the former homes and businesses dominate the landscape and are accessible through the entrance at the northeastern end, otherwise consisting of only a stretch of ruined buildings surrounded by an impassable belt of destroyed concrete and brick.

Near the western entrance, the Boulder City Memorial can be viewed, honoring the soldiers who died at the First Battle of Hoover Dam. Private Kowalski stands before it, paying his respects to his fallen brother, PFC Donald Kowalski. The memorial's inscription reads:

On this spot in the year 2277, Rangers and soldiers of the New California Republic turned back the forces of Caesar's Legion during the Battle of Hoover Dam. Over one hundred men and women gave their lives on the Nevada soil to defend local civilians and the principles of the republic. May this humble stone be an enduring memorial to their valor and sacrifice.

In a house opposite the ruins entrance, the remains of Ranger Teresa Lutz and two other troopers can be found, having been killed in the explosion that broke the Legion offensive. On the outskirts of town are the unburied bodies of those also killed in the explosion, bereft of proper burials.

Buildings

Notable loot

Related quests

Notes

If the player character attacks the memorial with any weapon, it will cause Kowalski to confront them. The only way to avoid violence or NCR Infamy is to pass a Speech check of 30 or flee, then wait 73 hours. By then, Kowalski will have returned to New California. On the other hand, the player character can say, "You're a little bitch, and your brother was too," immediately initiating combat with both Kowalski and any New California Republic members nearby.

Appearances

Boulder City appears in Fallout: New Vegas and is mentioned in the Lonesome Road add-on.[5]

Behind the scenes

Gallery

References

  1. The Courier: "What happened to Boulder City?"
    Monroe: "Destroyed during the Battle of Hoover Dam a couple of years ago. The town was set up as a trap for Caesar's Legion. The sharpshooters in the Rangers picked off the Legion's veterans from a distance, and the rest of the Legion just rushed on in. Then - boom!"
    (Lt. Monroe's dialogue)
  2. The Courier: "Tell me about Boulder City."
    Ike: "Most of the town is rubble - destroyed during the Battle of Hoover Dam - and the only other thing around here is the concrete mixing yard."
    (Ike's dialogue)
  3. The Courier: "What's the concrete used for?"
    Ike: "The NCR has been constructing bunkers up and down the river. From what I've heard, it's a little late for that. Travelers over at the 188 - just up the road - said that the Legion has overrun a couple of towns to the south."
    (Ike's dialogue)
  4. The Courier: "Where does the concrete come from?"
    Ike: "Most of the limestone comes from Quarry Junction out west, but I hear some Deathclaws overran the quarry. With no work to be had, all the workers around here have wandered off. I'm the only one left in town."
    (Ike's dialogue)
  5. The Courier: "When you speak of the dead — you mean the Marked Men? The Legion and NCR?"
    Ulysses: "The soldiers of the Bear? They were dead already, their symbol... diseased. Deserved to die as my brothers did at Boulder City, mines, bombs."
    (Ulysses' dialogue)

Non-game

  1. Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition pp. 370-371: "[3.32] Boulder City
    Boulder City, sprawling though its ruins are, has never been a sizable settlement post-war. It is a minor location, mostly notable for its proximity to Hoover Dam [3.33] and the 188 Trading Post [5.02]. It's a common resting spot for people on their way to New Vegas and for troops moving to and from the dam. There are not many intact buildings, as it was the site of intense fighting between NCR and Caesar's Legion during the first Battle of Hoover Dam. The Rangers lured some of the toughest veteran Legionaries into the town and blew it to pieces with explosives that had been strategically placed ahead of time.
    War Memorial
    A slab of limestone carved with the names of those who gave their lives during the first Battle of Hoover Dam. Private Kowalski is paying his respects here. Carve additional indents into the War Memorial to begin Free Quest: Defacing the Humble Stone.
    Ranger Lutz' Last Stand"
    (Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition Tour of the Mojave Wasteland)
Boulder City
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