Visited the Hoover Dam tour last month and noticed something off about the visitor center layout

The gift shop is placed right where you exit the main tour, but the emergency exits are hidden behind a row of vending machines. Did anyone else catch that weird design choice or am I overthinking it?

2 comments

2 Comments

diana7225d ago

Oh but I think the vending machine exit signs actually are a bit tricky because those signs are smaller than the standard ones and they face sideways, not straight out where you'd naturally look. When I was there last summer I asked a ranger about it and he said they've had people miss them entirely during the fire drill we got caught in. So yeah, the design could definitely be clearer, especially with the gift shop blocking your line of sight.

barbaragarcia25d ago

Actually, the emergency exits near the vending machines aren't really hidden on purpose. I looked into this after my own visit and found out those are marked with the standard exit signs above them, they just blend in with the vending machine lights a bit. The main emergency exits are actually located by the restrooms on the other side of the rotunda, not behind the machines. Maybe it's just me but I think the design is a little confusing but not really a safety issue.