Historic Hood River
Bonneville Dam, 1937
9-6-2012
Notes
This image of water spilling through the Bonneville Dam is unremarkable, except that it dates from December 1937. Construction of the first powerhouse began in 1934 and completed in 1937, with commercial power generation beginning in 1938. I’m sure there are many people in the area who can fill us in on some of the details of this project.
l.e.
Not much I can add other than my dad worked on the installation of the power lines.
William C. Seaton
Back in 1944 or 45, my step-grandfather was a guard at Bonneville Dam. One day he took me down below in the Dam to see the generators. To a little boy, they looked gigantic and the room that housed them was huge.
arlen sheldrake
"can’t imagine who will use all that electricity", a phrase that my parents related they heard a lot during the construction…..one wonders if HR residents had much of a clue what changes this dam would bring to their water front.