Water came over the spillway of The Dalles Dam soon after creation of Lake Celilo before the full complement of turbines and power generators were installed.
Builder of two of the great dams on the Columbia River and one major canal in the Near East, Col. Hugh Elder is shown at his desk in the Corps office at the site of the John Day Dam. The first day he stepped out of his office door right on top of a rattlesnake, but soon took care of the problem.
One of the last pictures of scenic and historic Celilo Falls was this one taken Sept. 9, 1956. That fall the Dam was closed and the Falls were flooded out.
A part of one of the biggest crowds ever in The Dalles took part in Ceremonies of Dedication at the Dam and following luncheon at The Dalles Junior High School. This was the outdoors crowd.
First Big Underwater Blast was at site of the powerhouse at The Dalles Dam. The blast didn't take place until 6:10 p.m. (ST) on March 31, more than two hours after the scheduled time with darkness rapidly coming on, and the photographer had to overdevelop the film to get this picture.
Dedication of The Dalles Dam took place Oct. 10, 1959, a little more than six years after the start of construction on the major Columbia River Project on the main stem of the Great River of the West.
Heavy Construction with up to 4,000 men at work marked building of the Dam, followed shortly by the start of construction of the John Day Dam only about 27 miles up the Columbia River.