Film Vault

BPA was created by the U.S. government in 1937 to market wholesale power from federal hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. In 1938, information officer Stephen B. Kahn established BPA’s motion picture division to educate the public about the benefits of clean, affordable and reliable electric power from the Northwest’s unique power and transmission system.

Watch BPA's historic films

Visit YouTube for access to Volume One and Volume Two of the BPA Film Collection.

BPA Film Collection Vol. 1

BPA Film Collection Volume One, 1939-1954, is a compilation of films from the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. It includes three of BPA's most notable films: “Hydro” (1939); “The Columbia: America’s Greatest Power Stream” (1949), the most famous BPA-produced film, which features songs balladeer Woody Guthrie composed while working for BPA in 1941; and “Highline” (1950), about the building of the Northwest electric transmission system. ​The collection also includes three feature films about the Columbia Power System and the Pacific Northwest in transition: “Power Builds Ships” (1942), about the World War II ship-building industry in the Northwest; “25,000 Volts Under the Sea” (1952), about the remarkable design, transport and laying of the underwater high-voltage cable that electrified the San Juan Islands; and “Look to the River” (1954), a rather impressionistic color film about the expansion of the dam system, with a score by Oscar-winning composer Ernest Gold. 

BPA Film Collection Vol. 2

BPA Film Collection, Volume Two, features films from the 1950s through 1987, the year of BPA’s 50th anniversary. The collection opens with a film called “Stringing and Sagging a High-Voltage Transmission Line.” This film, made in 1950, shows how BPA engineers determined what kind of cable to use, and how to string it and sag it for the best transmission of high-voltage electricity. It features wonderful animation and tower models. The next film, “The World Behind Your Light Switch” (1966), explains the thousands of uses of electricity and shows how lines are repaired in all weather conditions and circumstances. It includes footage of the first repair done on the San Juan Cable, the laying of which was depicted in BPA’s 1952 film called “25,000 Volts Under the Sea.” (Vol. 1).The last film in the first group is “Great River,” from 1963. The second group of films includes a pair of award-winning films: “Intertie” (1969) and “River of Power” (1987).

BPA’s early films take viewers on a journey through the challenges of the Great Depression, the region’s crucial role in World War II – when abundant, low-cost hydropower from the Columbia River supported the massive effort to build the ships, planes and armaments that helped the Allies win the war – and finally into a time of prosperity and change in the 1950s. From proclaiming the construction of Grand Coulee Dam as “the biggest job man has ever tackled,” to extolling how Columbia River power is “opening the gates of opportunity” and building the “economy of abundance,” these films tell the story of how BPA and its federal partners worked to harness the power of the Columbia River so it could bring electricity, irrigation, navigation and commerce to Northwest homes, businesses, farms and industries. Six of these films were featured on BPA Film Collection, Volume One, 1939-1954.

After promoting the development of the Federal Columbia River Power System and the idea of public power in the 1930s, BPA films began to tell new stories about the Northwest power system, and the challenges and victories that took place over the next four decades. BPA Film Collection, Volume Two, features seven films from the 1950s through 1987, the year of BPA’s 50th anniversary.