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American Experience

Grand Coulee Dam Chapter 1

Premiering April 3, 2012 at 8/7c. Check your local listings.

04/02/2012 | Rating NR

American Experience

Grand Coulee Dam Chapter 1

Clip: Season 24 Episode 6 | 13m 16s

Premiering April 3, 2012 at 8/7c. Check your local listings.

Of the many public works projects of the New Deal, Grand Coulee Dam loomed largest in America's imagination during the darkest days of the Depression. It promised to fulfill President Franklin Roosevelt's vision for a "planned promised land" where hard-working farm families would finally be free from the drought and dislocation caused by the elements.

04/02/2012 | Rating NR

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Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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Grand Coulee Dam - Preview

Preview: S24 Ep6 | 30s | Airs Tuesday, February 18, 2014 at 8/7c. Check your local listings. (30s)

The Columbia Basin Project

Clip: S24 Ep6 | 1m 5s | In the spring of 1952, work was finally underway on the Columbia Basin Project. (1m 5s)

Diverting the Columbia River

Clip: S24 Ep6 | 2m 40s | The biggest challenge in building Grand Coulee Dam was diverting the flow of the Columbia. (2m 40s)

Grand Coulee Dam: Engineering Challenges

Clip: S24 Ep6 | 2m 46s | The engineering challenges became apparent as soon as construction got underway. (2m 46s)

Grand Coulee Dam: Pouring the Concrete

Clip: S24 Ep6 | 1m 56s | It took millions of cubic yards of concrete to build Grand Coulee Dam. (1m 56s)

The Impact of Grand Coulee Dam

Clip: S24 Ep6 | 1m 13s | Grand Coulee Dam was dedicated in front of a crowd of 8,000 on March 22, 1941. (1m 13s)

Grand Coulee Dam's Open Spillways

Clip: S24 Ep6 | 15s | This 15-second time-lapse video shows the Grand Coulee Dam's spillway closing. (15s)

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Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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