Dam Designer Extraordinaire

John Lucian “Jack” Savage, the Bureau of Reclamation’s Chief Designing Engineer from 1924 to 1945, was arguably the most renowned dam designer in hydropower’s golden years. During his lengthy career, he was chief designing engineer or consulting engineer for more than 90 dams, including dams throughout the United States and internationally. Among these projects were Hoover Dam, Shasta Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, the TVA’s Norris and Wheeler dams, and the proposed Three Gorges Dam in China.

Over the years, Savage was responsible for many important technical innovations. One was the introduction of artificially cooled mass concrete when designing Hoover Dam. Concrete produces heat as it cures, which can lead to cracking. Cure time increases with the amount of concrete. Savage and his team of engineers calculated that if the dam had been formed in a single, continuous pour, its internal temperature would have risen 40 degrees while it was hardening, it would have taken 125 years to cool, and the thermal stresses would have fractured it severely. Instead, the dam was formed of 5-foot-high interlocking blocks of concrete. An intricate network of water-cooling lines was embedded in each block. These passageways were filled with grout after the concrete set. This cooling technique made the construction of other large concrete dams practical.

Savage was born on a farm near Cooksville, Wisconsin, on Christmas Day in 1879. He received a B.S. degree in civil engineering in 1903 from the University of Wisconsin. He later was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Wisconsin, the University of Denver, and the University of Colorado, and was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Jack Dam” was known for his extraordinary gentle expertise and wisdom. He was unassuming, soft-spoken, precise, and hardworking. He disliked exclusive praise for himself, dreaded the limelight and avoided the use of the first person. He was respected by his employees as both an engineer and a person.

Savage was married twice. His first wife, whom he married in 1918, died in 1940. He remarried in 1950. That marriage lasted until his death in 1967. Although Savage never had children, he helped eleven nieces and nephews through college.

My maternal grandfather, legendary dam builder George Jessup, and Savage knew each other. Here is a picture from my book, Dam It!, of them standing together at a Wheeler Dam construction inspection (Savage, left, and Jessup, right).

I recently discovered another amazing, small world connection. My daughter in Denver is project manager for the renovation of the house Savage lived in from 1920 until three years before his death in 1967. The house, pictured recently below, looks very much the same today as it did when Savage was in residence.
Robert L. Underwood
February 23, 2025