 During the years of lobbying leading up to the passage of legislation authorizing the dam in 1928 , the press generally referred to the dam as " Boulder Dam " or as " Boulder Canyon Dam " , even though the proposed site had shifted to Black Canyon . The Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 ( <unk> ) never mentioned a proposed name or title for the dam . The <unk> merely allows the government to " construct , operate , and maintain a dam and incidental works in the main stream of the Colorado River at Black Canyon or Boulder Canyon " . 
