Courtesy of The Canyon Club of Page, Arizona, I’ll be giving a presentation through photos on the beginnings of Glen Canyon Dam on Friday, November 18, 2022 at the Courtyard Marriott in Page, Arizona. A social is planned for 6:00 PM followed by my presentation at 7:00 PM. This short video is a small sample of what’s ahead. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there!
Glen Canyon Dam
Bringing the Past Into The Present – A Promotional Video for My Upcoming Presentation
I have been invited by the Canyon Club of Page Arizona to speak about my time growing up in Page during the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and the early years of the (then) town of Page. I will be presenting a large number of photos from that time that have come to me over the years and talking about many of the details in each one. In addition, I will be reflecting on my time living in Page from 1960-1985.
If you’ve followed my website, https://mikesdamphotojournal.com – you’re already aware of some of the photos I have shared there. But I have many more that I’ll be talking about as well. There will be plenty of time for Q&A and for those in attendance to share their memories of each photo of that era gone by.
This casual evening is being held at the Page Marriott beginning at 6:00 PM on Friday, July 30th, 2021. There is no charge for admission and an electronic copy of my presentation will be available afterward for attendees who want a copy. This video is a short promotional I put together in advance of that evening.
My 2017 Interview with Arizona Highways
Arizona Highways reached out to me a few years ago for an interview regarding this site and what’s going on here. Back then the address of my site was pageaz.org. I still own that address and all the links to it still work but forward here, to Mike’s Dam Photo Journal. You can read the interview here:
-Enjoy!
The Amazing Glen Canyon Dam Footbridge
This is one of the clearest photos of the footbridge I’ve seen. This footbridge was just upstream from the dam. This is looking toward the Page side of the canyon. Click image to zoom in. You’ll see people coming toward you at the other end of the bridge, and the small parking area on that side of the canyon. There was also a small parking lot behind the photographer. You can see remnants of that parking lot on Google Earth. That area is closed to public access now.
Late 1950s Aerial Tour of Page Arizona
I have a couple really cool aerial shots to share with you in this video, along with a “Then and Now” comparison.
Early 60s Aerial Tour of Page Arizona
The detail on some of these early aerial photos of Page and Glen Canyon Dam are amazing. In this one, I give you an aerial tour of the town of Page as it appeared in the early 1960s.
Glen Canyon Dam Concrete Batch Plant
With the social distancing that we’re doing, I thought I would take advantage of the down time and make a few videos for Mike’s Dam Photo Journal. The concrete batch plant at the Glen Canyon Dam was something I always wanted to go inside of, but never had an opportunity. Here’s a few narrated images of it for your visual enjoyment.
Post-Construction Glen Canyon Dam Site
This is a great 1965 aerial photo of the Glen Canyon Dam site. It shows the remnants of the construction days and what was still in place from those years. Click on it to enlarge it in a new window. You’ll notice on the right side of the photo that the cableway towers, which were between the Beehive and the canyon wall, are gone and the tracks they rode on have been removed. Construction of the Visitor’s Center hadn’t begun yet.
Moving upstream along the canyon, both spillways are clearly visible, as is the horseshoe-shaped road/parking area where the footbridge once stood. The faint white-dashed line spanning the canyon was the log jam to prevent boaters from getting too close to the dam and spillways. The nighttime trout fishing with the boat tied to the log jam was always good.
The aggregate piles are still there where the conveyor belts once stood. The red line on the photo may have been a proposed route for the road to Wahweap. There are still a few buildings from the construction days and an electric substation near the Beehive. I made a then-and-now post of the Beehive you can see at The Beehive Then and Now.
-Enjoy!
1958 Construction of Glen Canyon Dam
Here’s an 8mm YouTube home movie I came across with some excellent shots of the construction of Glen Canyon Dam, Glen Canyon Bridge, and Page Arizona from the late 1950s. This video captures some great moments of that time. Enjoy!
A History of Glen Canyon Dam and Page Arizona 