Administration

1934 · 59455 — Portland OR: Public Works Administration; Six Companies Inc. May 1934 - Sept. 1937. Folio. 51 original negatives nearly all w/ captions w/in negative at lower fore-edge 50 panoramics sized 4 x 12 in. 1 sized 3.5 x 4.75 in. almost all w/ neat photographer’s initials & name in lower corner as well as dated. All preserved in archival sleeves and recent black 10-ring binder. This extraordinary archive of panoramic photo negatives documents the building of the Bonneville Dam the second of the large New Deal dam building projects on the Columbia River shot by a largely unknown Public Works Administration photographer for the Six Companies Inc. As one of the most successful New Deal agencies created by Roosevelt’s National Industrial Recovery Act this one was headed by Harold Ickes and emphasized large scale public works projects such as dam building bridge building and more to revive the economy. These negatives open by documenting the future dam site located 40 miles east of Portland OR & Vancouver WA with Bradford Island separating the Spillway Dam North of the Island from the Powerhouse and Navigation Lock South of the Island. The negatives depict the Power House Area as construction begins the Contractor’s Camp No. 1 and Engineer’s Camp Areas followed by several as railroad trestles for hauling gravel rock cement and supplies are constructed the coffer dam built and initial construction. Also depicted are the massive walking draglines used by the Columbia Construction Co. comprising Utah Construction Co. Morrison-Knudsen Henry J. Kaiser MacDonald & Kahn and Bechtel Corp. as they employed barge-mounted derricks dredges Bucyrus-Monighan 8-cubic-yard walking draglines LeTourneau “Buggy†Wagons and Cat Diesel 75 crawler tractors. These images offer a nearly time-lapse effect racing the monthly progress of the construction. By 1935 the Power House was udner accelerated construction the Spillway appears with railcars delivering construction materials and workers and by 1936 massive steel beams were being installed into the Power House. Another photo shows the Tanner Creek Railroad Viaduct curving through the image including the Construction Worker’s quarters hatchery complex and fish ladder. Still others show the Ship Locks & Power House under construction views of the massive project from a distance up on the bluffs of the Columbia River Gorge as well as closer shots. The nearly final images show not only the completed dam but dedication by President Franklin D. Roosevelt Sept. 28 1937 and the finished Spillway with the river filling behind the dam. The Bonneville Power Administration was created by Congress in 1937 to market and sell the power produced by the Bonneville Dam. The first completed power house lock and spillway dam began providing electricity for the Bonneville Power Administration in 1938 improved river navigation and gave rise to the Pacific Northwest aluminum industry which was critical for Boeing during World War II producing aircraft for the war effort. The Public Works Administration proved to be one of the most successful New Deal programs was much less controversial than the Works Progress Administration which focused on employing unskilled workers and generating a host of projects to employ many under utilized professionals and artists during the Depression. Although the photographer remains largely obscure with Library of Congress Univ. of Washington Univ. of Oregon & Oregon Historical Society listing some of his 8 x 10 images and three large panoramas it is apparent in this collection from the final negative he also took photos for the P.W.A. and Six Companies at the Grand Coulee Dam project. Oliver’s 1894-1975 was a carpenter and contractor originally from Montana who by 1920 was working in Portland OR. Although he does not appear in the 1930 census his World War II registration handwriting which lists him working for the Ross B. Hammond Contractors in Troutdale OR matches many of the lettering in the captions of the negatives. The Hammond Co. also worked as the general contractor for the Oregon State Capitol Building in Salem and the company contracted out many of their workers to Bechtel Corp. & Morrison-Knudsen during the Great Depression. Oliver appears to have used a Connley Panoramic Model A Camera which produced a 140 degree 3.5-3.75 x 12 in. negative on standard 103 roll film and was marketed through Sears Roebuck & Co. See: R.W. Oliver Photographs Collection 1934-1936 Accession 29073 36 photographs; Bonneville Dam Construction Album U of O Collect. No. PH 203_020 a few images by Oliver others by Bichel many unsigned. Public Works Administration; Six Companies, Inc., unknown