In early 1949, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the construction of a dam, bulkhead, and new bridge at the mouth of the Deschutes River, thereby creating Capitol Lake. This photograph from late 1949 or early 1950 shows the beginning of construction of the dam and the Fifth Avenue Bridge over it. In the distance we can see the dome of the Legislative Building, still under repair following the April 1949 earthquake. The dam and bridge were completed in 1951. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. More information is available at olympiahistory.org. Unknown photographer, around 1950, Susan Parish Collection, Southwest Regional Archives