Winged Figures of the Republic

Winged Figures of the Republic is an Art Deco sculpture by Oskar J. W. Hansen (1892–1971) installed on the Nevada side of the Hoover Dam, which blocks the Colorado River and creates Lake Mead.

Description
The sculpture consists of two 30-foot-tall copper angels that flank a 142-foot-tall flagpole. On the ground there is a map of stars made of terrazzo which match the exact pattern as the day it was dedicated based on the 25,772-year axial precession of the earth.

History
It opened along with the rest of the dam in 1935. It was restored in 1948 and again ten years later.

Since 2022, the Monument Plaza, including the sculpture, has been undergoing a renovation. During the construction, the star map at the base of the statues, was destroyed due to the need for a new drainage system and the complexity of restoring the map. Multiple people and groups tried to stop its demolition and to restore the star map. The Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees the project, refused.

Monument Plaza
The Monument Plaza is a broader area that includes the Winged Figures sculpture as well as other works of art by Oskar J. W. Hansen such as a memorial to the 96 workers who died building the dam. The entire plaza was completed on December 17, 1937.