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June 1941. "Parker Dam power project. View from California side into Arizona." Gelatin silver print by Ben Glaha, Bureau of Reclamation. View full size.
I wonder what the structure in the middle sluice opening is. Probably not somebody's laundry out to dry.
Too bad Jack "Jake" Nicholson wasn't around to (re)solve the case.
Hasn't changed much over the years. Here is a Polaroid Type-107 print I snapped of it in the 1980s on one of my trips through the area.
Still looks like this even today, I used this dam as a crossing point back and forth as a short cut to get from I-40 to the I-10 instead of going down the 17 through Phoenix back in the mid 90's. Much nicer scenery and traffic wise. I was surprised to see so many properties along the CA side of the Colorado, reminded me a bit of the East Coast.
Sorry to hear about the controversy, as the structure itself is a magnificent tribute to the art of 1930's design. Modernism on the march!
This dam, which straddles the border of California and Arizona, has long been contentious for both states. Its construction involved Arizona sending National Guard troops to halt work in 1935, and ultimately an appeal by the US Department of the Interior to the Supreme Court, which Arizona won. The ensuing settlement allowed the dam to be completed in 1938, but it has continued to be a source of friction with regard to water rights, recreation, and electrical power. Its reservoir forms Lake Havasu.
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