Recreation Area Gets New Name, Marks 50th Anniversary
A fireside chat with President Roosevelt and a visit with Fibber McGee are part of a nostalgic weekend planned by the National Park Service to celebrate Coulee Dam National Recreation Area’s 50th anniversary.
Dan Hand, chief of visitor services at the park, says next Friday evening’s program also will include the unveiling of an official highway sign announcing the park’s new name: Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.
“The new name is more historically accurate,” explained Hand. “The impoundment behind Grand Coulee Dam has been known since construction of the dam as Lake Roosevelt.”
The name also reflects the true nature of the park. Hand says visitors to the 150-mile-long lake are sometimes led astray by the name “Coulee Dam.”
Friday’s anniversary celebration, which begins at 7:15 p.m. at Coulee Dam City Hall, will take place in a recreated 1930’s living room, and feature a 1935 “fireside chat” by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The program also will include video and slide presentations focusing on how events of the 1930s and ‘40s shaped the national park system.
Children and their parents are invited to arrive at 6 p.m. for an hour of stories and activities appropriate to the season.
Following the anniversary program will be the large-screen showing of a classic holiday film.
Those who want can spend the night just across the street at the “North Dorm,” which housed engineers during dam construction. This historic structure, now the Four Winds Guest House, was visited by FDR in 1937, when he met with the project’s 24 engineers in the building’s commons area.
On Saturday, the celebration resumes with sleigh rides, carols and refreshments at the National Park Service headquarters across the bridge in east Coulee Dam, between 1 and 5 p.m.
Visitors will find the Grand Coulee area all spiced up for the season. The Mason City Park Extension in Coulee Dam is home to a “Winter in the Country” scene, with bell tower and musical bears. An animated train, jack-in-the-box and a variety of critters perched on the business rooftops reflect the area’s theme: “City of Lights.”
Oh, and don’t forget the dam. Grand Coulee is the largest hydroelectric producer in North America, with a 6.5-billion-watt capacity.
Tours of the dam are available during visitor center hours, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week (except Christmas and New Year’s Day).
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: If you go Grand Coulee Dam is 90 miles from Spokane. Follow Highway 174 from Wilbur. Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area information: 1-509-633-9441. Grand Coulee Dam area Chamber of Commerce: 1-800-268-5332. Four Winds Guest House: 1-800-786-3146. The guest house has a winter special of $50 per night per couple, with breakfast and taxes included.