Dam Documentary Local Photographers Took On Project Of Monumental Proportions

How big a deal was this project?

Only one of the biggest construction projects of all time, in the entire world.

“The Grand Coulee: The Building of a Dam,” which opened Wednesday at the Cheney Cowles Museum, captures the scale of this massive undertaking, from the first spadeful of dirt in 1934, to the last pouring of concrete in 1942.

This exhibit fills the museum’s main art gallery, and it consists of 22 watercolor paintings by Vanessa Helder and 12 historic photos from Libby Photography Studios in Spokane, three of which are reproduced here.

“The Libbys (Charles Libby Sr. and Charles Libby Jr.) were hired by the Bureau of Reclamation to document the site,” said David Andersen, assistant curator of art. “The first pictures date from 1933, before excavation. They shot hundreds of pictures afterwards, even into the 1940s and 1950s.”

The largest picture shown here, dating from 1936, shows workers surfacing the concrete on the face of the dam. It looks dangerous, and it was. Accidents claimed 70 lives during the project, said Andersen.

The second photo shows the pouring of the first massive concrete forms, on Dec. 6, 1935.

The third photo, of President Franklin D. Roosevelt making a speech at the dam site, was taken on Aug. 3, 1934, near the beginning of the excavation. Roosevelt’s trip was mainly a promotional one, said Andersen, to generate enthusiasm (and political support) for the still-controversial project. This photo was distributed nationwide by wire services and is one of Libby’s most famous photos.

The fourth, and smallest, photo shows the completed dam at night, with the town of Coulee Dam illuminated with the dam’s electricity. It is a Bureau of Reclamation photo from 1942.

“Grand Coulee: The Building of a Dam” continues through Sept. 17 in the main art gallery. The exhibit also includes a 10-foot-by-15 foot video wall featuring two documentaries on the building of the dam and on the dam’s effect on Indian cultures.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 4 Photos