Historic Hood River
Poles For Power
Notes
This a whole bunch of things going on here which link this image with several other Alva Day images which explain how Pacific Power extended electricity to the Hood River valley through the 1920s and 1930s. This image is by the Mt. Hood Railroad tracks nears the Hood River depot. You can see the shiny new Columbia River Highwy bridge across the Hood River in the background, and the west-side loops of that highway gracefully curving up the hill in the far background. The Union Pacific mainline tracks are to the left.
I think the rail car is delivering electric poles which these men are taking one by one to their work yard downtown, which you can see in this image. They can then be dragged to location and erected around the valley, as shown in one of my favorite Alva Day images.  You can see how they erected the poles in this image.
Tags: Alva Day, Columbia River Highway, electricity, Hood River depot, Mt Hood Railroad, mud, railroad, train
L. E.
We make fun of Alva Day because he seemed obsessed with power poles and electrical wires.
But his images contain so much detail. You can easily study his photos for five minutes, picking out bits and pieces of detail.
Pat A
Exactly the reason I follow this blog. One picture looking at downtown from the loops a week ago, and now looking at the loops from downtown.
Love Alva day pictures.
Yes L.E. Always action and clear picture to view it!
I wonder if the tie plant was creosote treating power poles in this days, these poles don’t have that black look?
Roger H Sheldrake
I agree! Always checking the “links” to see what garden path it leads me down. Always nice to see a comment my brother Arlen has made in years past!