When Grand Coulee Dam was completed in 1943, its huge generators were the largest in the world, and the dam itself was one of the world's largest power plants. During World War II, the cheap electric power from Grand Coulee and Bonneville Dams stimulated the growth of the Pacific Northwest's aluminum, aircraft and shipbuilding industries and lit the homes of workers who had poured to the area.

This August 1941 photo shows the inside of one of the powerhouses at Grand Coulee Dam during construction. Three workmen in hard hats look into a pit below. One of the round generators can be seen in the distant center of the image.

Written on negative: Coulee power house
Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): August 4, 1941