Historic Hood River
Penstock Flume
2-27-2025
Notes
This fine Alva Day image shows the start of the penstock flume at the Powerdale Dam on the Hood River. Water from the river can travel into the wooden pipeline you see on the upper left side, where it will flow to the powerhouse downriver. The mechanisms to the right control the position of gates to allow water out of this structure, reducing flow into the flume.
This structure was removed with the dam last decade, but pieces of the penstock flume and the powerhouse survive. The lower penstock flume makes for a popular local hike.
Roger H Sheldrake
Well I don’t know much about todays picture either. However it’s always interesting to peruse the “tags” and read the comments from past years!
Kurt Cyrus
I think the building in this picture was referred to as the “transition house.” One day in 1980 I was hiking around, and sneaked into the building to spend the night. Water entered at the top floor and flowed through a grate, then was funneled into the pipeline below. All the gurgling sounds gave me weird dreams.