Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area under the supervision of the National Park Service. It encompasses the long Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake between Grand Coulee Dam and Northport, Washington, in eastern Washington state. The Grand Coulee Dam was built on the Columbia River in 1941 as part of the Columbia River Basin project, named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area provides opportunities for fishing, swimming, canoeing, boating, hunting, camping, and visiting historic Fort Spokane and St. Paul's Mission. Crescent Bay Lake in Grant County just southwest
Grand Coulee Dam Frank A. Banks served as the chief construction engineer. Bert A. Hall was the chief inspector who would accept the dam from the contractors. Orin G. Patch served as the chief of concrete. Construction conditions were dangerous and 77 workers died. To prepare for construction, housing for workers was needed along with four bridges downstream of the dam site, one of which, the Grand Coulee Bridge, exists today. The Bureau of Reclamation provided housing and located their administrative building at Engineer's Town, which was directly downstream of the construction site on the west side of the river. Opposite Engineer's Town,