Major New Deal dam projects: grand coulee dam (1 gen 1933 anni – 1 gen 1942 anni)

Descrizione:

This extraordinary photo from a Life magazine essay shows workers hitching a ride on a 13-ton conduit as it is lowered into place on the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state. Built to harness the awesome power of the Columbia River as it rushed to the Pacific, Grand Coulee would ultimately provide electric power to Seattle, Portland, and other West Coast cities and new irrigation waters for Washington’s apple and cherry orchards, among many other crops.

The largest project in the West, however, took shape in an obscure corner of Washington state, where the PWA and the Bureau of Reclamation built the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River. When it was completed in 1941, Grand Coulee was the largest electricity-producing structure in the world, and its 150-mile reservoir lake provided irrigation for the state’s major crops: apples, cherries, pears, potatoes, and wheat. Inspired by the massive project and the modernizing spirit of the New Deal, folk singer Woody Guthrie wrote a song about the project. “Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,” he sang, “so roll on, Columbia, roll on!”

New Deal projects made natural wonders across the country more accessible and enjoyable. CCC and WPA workers built the famous Blue Ridge Parkway, which connects the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Government workers built the San Francisco Zoo, Berkeley’s Tilden Park, and the canals of San Antonio. The Civilian Conservation Corps helped to complete the East Coast’s Appalachian Trail and the West Coast’s Pacific Crest Trail through the Sierra Nevada. The New Deal’s environmental legacy included projects both monumental and modest. In parks across the country, cabins, shelters, picnic areas, lodges, and observation towers reflect the era’s spirit of improvement.

Aggiunto al nastro di tempo:

Data: