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Gorge Powerhouse built in 1924 is fed by the Gorge Dam on the Skagit river. The Upper Skagit Indian tribe, which has lived along the Skagit River for at least 8,400 years wants Seattle to remove the Gorge Dam, the lowest of the three dams on the Skagit, and return the river to the section the city de-watered. The tribe says Seattle’s century of hydroelectric work on the Skagit has contributed to a sharp drop in river’s salmon runs, which has ripple effects across the region. The Skagit is the last American river outside of Alaska still home to all five species of wild salmon, although the fish stocks are dwindling: two species are now listed under the Endangered Species Act and a nearby resident killer whale population, which depends on the Skagit River’s salmon for survival, is listed as endangered.
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BACK TO CONCRETE PORTFOLIO Portland Cement Company in Cement, Washington. The town was originally named Baker. The Portland Cement Factory created a new town next door. Cement provided the raw meterials for the three dams on the Skagit River. Eventually the towns of Baker and Concrete merged, and the citizens chose the name Concrete for the new town. The words were painted on the silos for the movie This Boys Life, which is an autobiography about a boy who lived in Concrete.
