Browse Items (50 total)

  • Collection: Grand Coulee Dam

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.001

One photo album illustrating the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam from 1933 to 1937. It includes photographs of the site before construction, the Columbia River diversion, blasting, "jackhammer men," driving steel piling, and general construction…

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.002

Columbia River - Kettle Falls.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.003

Columbia River - General view in reservoir area.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.004

Grand Coulee Damsite - Looking west, December 1933.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.005

Grand Coulee Damsite - Looking west, April 1937.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.006

Grand Coulee Damsite - Looking east, December 1933.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.007

Grand Coulee Damsite - Looking east - May, 1937.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.008

East end, Grand Coulee Dam - Concrete placing trestles and bedrock foundation blocks - January, 1937.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.009

Anchoring to granite - the east abutment at Grand Coulee Dam.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.010

"Digging In" - The First shovel - December 1933.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.011

The President's Visit - August 4, 1934.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.012

Builders' Quarters - Government camp in the foreground; contractor's camp across the river - 1936.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.013

Government camp and highway bridge, 1936. Upstream is west cofferdam, concrete placing trestle, and west conveyor.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.014

West cofferdam, March 31, 1935. Length, 3000 feet, height 115 feet, over 17,000 tons steel piling, constructed in ninety days.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.015

Driving steel piling. West cofferdam.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.016

Excavation - Five-yard shovel loading ten-yard buggies - excavating overburden from dam foundation.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.017

Excavation behind west cofferdam - August, 1935.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.018

Belt conveyor - Transporting excavated material to Rattlesnake Canyon, 1 1/2 miles distant.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.019

Conveyor stacker - discharging excavated material in Rattlesnake Canyon.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.020

Governor Clarence D. Martin formally placing first concrete in dam, December 6, 1935.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.021

Concrete placing - January 1936. Top of dam 280 feet above high trestle deck.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.022

Concrete in dam. June, 1936. One millionth yard placed August 14, 1936.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.023

Concrete placing - Dumping a four-yard concrete bucket.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.024

Bedrock behind west cofferdam.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.025

A five-yard shovel loading a twenty-yard "Buggy."

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.026

Night at Grand Coulee.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.027

Jackhammer Men - with hard hats and safety belts they trim steep abutment slopes.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.028

Upstream Face Grand Coulee Dam. 1,550,000 cubic yards of concrete in place.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.029

West End Grand Coulee Dam - Concrete placing trestles and cranes.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.030

The checkerboard. The pouring of concrete into interlocking blocks permits grouting of contraction joints to form monolithic mass.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.031

A "House of Magic" - One of two concrete mixing plants, capacity 8,000 cubic yards per day each.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.032

Cooling pipe. Water will be circulated through 2000 miles of it embedded in the dam to cool and shrink the concrete and thus facilitate grouting of construction joints.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.033

Facilities for visitors. Some 200,000 visitors in 1936 inspected a model of the dam and from sheltered seats close to the work on each side of the river viewed the construction work and had it explained over a public address system.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.034

"Ice Dam" - Muck flowing into deep depression in bedrock, stopped by artificially frozen arch dam.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.035

Deepest foundation depression. Ice dam restraining the muck from flowing into pit.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.036

Gravel Pit. Deposit from which concrete aggregates are excavated by electric shovels and belt conveyors at a rate of 2500 tons per hour.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.037

Source of supply for the eleven million yards of sand and gravel required for the Grand Coulee Dam.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.038

Columbia River Diverted. Two cross-river cofferdams divert stream through low sections in west portion of dam while east portion is unwatered for preparation of foundation.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.039

Cold Concrete. Nearly 2,000,000 cubic yards of it in west end of dam with Columbia diverted through low section.

GrandCouleeDam. NWC019.040

The Bucket. Downstream face of spillway with powerhouse foundation beyond.