The Columbia: America's Greatest Power Stream (1949)
"The Columbia" is the most famous movie produced by BPA's Motion Picture Information division. This film was originally slated as a remake of the 1939 film "Hydro," but production was shelved because of World War II. The production was then resurrected following the Vanport flood of 1948. Like "Hydro," "The Columbia" illustrates the economic and societal value of the Federal Columbia River Power System and affordable electricity. BPA information officer Stephen Kahn used footage and music from "Hydro," but inserted the war industries, flood control, and of course, the music of Woody Guthrie, whom BPA employed in 1941 to write songs inspired by the great Columbia River and Pacific Northwest. Learn about other BPA films at: www.bpa.gov/goto/Films.
Highline: Pacific Northwest's High-Voltage Transmission System (1950)
25,000 Volts Under the Sea: Laying of the San Juan Cable (1952)
Woody Guthrie's Columbia River Songs in The Columbia (1949 Film)
Hydro: Power to Make the American Dream Come True (1939)
“Why Rock Imagery Matters” Presented by The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
BPA’s Quarterly Business Review, FY2024 Q1
Columbia River Google Earth Dam Tour
Footage from the Aftermath of the 1990 Custer Substation Fire
The History of the Oregon Lumber Company Railroad
Pollinators and Powerlines Forest Park, Oregon
River of Power (1987)
Introduction to BPA Film Collection: Volume One, Disc One, 1939-1954
BPA’s Quarterly Business Review, FY2025 Q3
Military Makeover: Operation Career
Value of the River - Transmission
Hydro: Power to Make the American Dream Come True (International, circa 1940)
Responding to the 1990 Transformer Fire at Custer Substation
Stringing and Sagging a High-Voltage Transmission Line (1950)
The World Behind Your Light Switch (1966)
