Government Hill, Anchorage
Government Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Anchorage, Alaska, probably named for all the government employees who lived there starting in 1915 with the early days of the Alaska Railroad. I was lucky enough to get a tour…
The Anchorage Times
On June 5, 1915, The Anchorage Times published its first issue. The newspaper was founded by Ted Needham and L. Frank Shaw as the Pioneer-News. The first headline story was “Status of the New Townsite.” (At the time, the town…
Joe Spenard, Anchorage Character
Ever heard about the Spenard neighborhood in Anchorage and wondered about its namesake? Joe Spenard was one of our early characters. Joe Spenard was originally from Canada, and he and his wife Edith ran various businesses in Valdez before they…
Anchorage History in Block 13
The Anchorage area was used for fishing and subsistence grounds by the indigenous Dena’ina people, but it didn’t have a fixed settlement until it was founded as a townsite in 1915. So we don’t have a deep written history here.…
The Fourth Avenue Theatre
The Fourth Avenue Theatre: the neon sign is a landmark, and the building is an icon in Anchorage, Alaska. It is listed in the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey (where I found these photos and more at http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Photograph:%20ak0096&fi=number&op=PHRASE&va=exact&co%20=hh&st=gallery&sg%20=%20true)…
