Anchorage

My Self-Guided Tour through Anchorage

Our bus dropped us off at the Convention Center, and since our room wasn’t

ready we had time to explore.

Just a little background. 

The city of Anchorage was incorporated in 1920 after Congress approved

the completion of the Alaska Railroad from Seward to Fairbanks in 1914. A new

rail hub was needed along the route, hence the settlement of Anchorage was 

established, and six years the city was later incorporated. Anchorage with 

nearly half of the Alaskan population was named after a dry-docked steamship 

called “The Anchorage”. 

In the Convention Center, we were able to store our luggage, which allowed us to 

roam the streets of Anchorage. To me, the city appeared to be stuck in time, in the 

70s to be precise. Anchorage has not made the list of places, stuck in time, but it 

has made my list. If you decide to wander the streets of Anchorage, keep in mind 

much of the city such as major buildings and street layout was done after the 

establishment, which means the streets are a nice straight gridwork, which can 

give you some cool photos. Also, many of these buildings have survived the 

1964 Good Friday Earthquake. As I wrote here, out of the eight strongest 

earthquakes ever recorded in the world, three of them were in Alaska.

Around the block from the Convention Center on 1st and W. 4th is the Visitor 

Center and worth a stop if you haven’t planned your day. Our first stop was the 

Anchorage Museum, which was a few blocks from the Convention Center. We 

wanted to see the current exhibit which was the “Alaskan RailroadCentennial”. 

A great exhibit for all people who like trains.  The exhibit, “Art of the North” 

and the “Alaska Exhibit” is part of their permanent collection and worth a visit 

as well. On the way to the museum, we stopped by Town Square Park. After the

nearby Performing Arts Center was built, plans for a park were made in 1984. 

The purpose was to have an area to gather and to have community events, which

obviously turned into a fruitful endeavor. If little markets aren't your thing, the

Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall is right around the corner. The only Mall, without

a food court I have ever encountered. 

    

 I didn’t take a photo of the mall but here are a few images of the museum. 

We had dinner at dinner at Ginner a wonderful restaurant and a block down 

from the convention centre. After dinner, we decided to do a little city walking

tour, since sunset wasn’t until 11:30 pm.

 

Our hotel was on W 5th Street, and the old City Hall is on 4th and E. It was the

home of the administration of the city of Anchorage from 1936 to 1979. The 

architect E. Ellsworth Sedille designed the building in the Beaux-Arts style. 

The building is constructed from cast concrete and as you can see a large range 

of masonry techniques were used for the round-arch opening and the voussoirs 

of the first floor. The second floor has a smooth finish with a classical parapet. 

Remember, this is also now the home of the Anchorage Visitor Center. In 1980 

the Old Anchorage City Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

We did take the time to take a photo that would do the building justice, so I 

found One on the net. 

 

Next, we walked south on E Street to the Town Square Park, the little market and vendors

are now all gone and only the sad remnants of plastic, paper, and spoiled food indicating that 

humans had been present. We walked over to 5th Street and on the 

corner of 5th and I Street is the Holy Family Old Cathedral. 1915 the original parish was

established and was made from cement blocks with a wooden frame. After years of 

fundraising construction on the new church started in 1947 but wasn’t completed until 

1952.  The architect Augustine A. Porreca designed it in the Romanesque Revival 

architectural style. In 1981 Pope John Paul II visited Anchorage and held a papal audience

in this Cathedral, which attracted about 80,000 people. 

If you keep walking down 5th and then go up on L Street you will find the Captian Cook

Monument.  Remember, he is the guy you picked a fight with the Hawaiians and lost. We

decided not to visit the guy bronze looking over the sea but to visit the hotel named in 

his honor on our way back. First, we wanted to see the ghost of Oscar Anderson. The Oscar

Anderson House Museum is one of the oldest buildings in Anchorage. Oscar Anderson 

built it in 1915. He was one of the first settlers, he claimed he was the 18th person who

settle in Anchorage and became a prominent business owner. His wood-framed house was

placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The story of the ghost, well

you need to find it out on your own. 

The home is open for visitors from June 1 through September 18 and advanced reservations 

are required. Off-season visitors can take advantage of the home's special Christmas 

openings and enjoy Christmas decorations and Swedish. For off-hours, visitors' historical

marker is provided with much information. If you come by car, make sure you pay for 

parking. We saw someone getting a parking ticket after 11pm. 

We saw the Whaling Wall Mural from the bus and we had the best intentions to walk

back, to stand in front of it and admire its beauty but it didn't happen. We will make sure

to visit it next time. The reason why it is important to stand in front of it is, the author,

Robert Wyland is well-known for painting full-size marine life on walls of buildings. 

Standing in front of a building showing the actual size of a whale, taking in the enormity 

of the animal is something to experience.  Here is a photo I found on the internet of the

mural to give you an understanding of the size. 

Our next stop was the Captian Cook Hotel. I will let the photos tell the story. 

The following items were on our list but we decided to save them for next time. The

Wendler Building was next on the list. It is one of the oldest buildings in Anchorage. 

It is also the only corner turret in Anchorage. Corner Turrets, buildings with a small

tower on the corner of the building, were far more common in Europe than in Alaska,

which makes the building unique. You can read about it on Wikipedia or go to this 

fun site, which you probably remember from this post.

It was starting to get dark and we wanted to enjoy the view from our balcony.

Next was the Anchorage Hotel, which was built in 1916 and upgraded to a luxury

hotel in 1917. Now my research also stated that the current hotel building was 

constructed as an annex to the hotel by C.B. Wark and opened in 1936. We can't 

wait to see this building on our next trip. People such as Warren Harding, Harold L. 

Ickes and, Walt Disney had stayed here. Also, Remember Wiley Post, and Will 

Rogers, they stayed in the hotel only two days before their deaths in the plane crash

August 15, 1935, at Point Borrow, Alaska. The other interesting part about this hotel,

remember the artist who predicted his own death. Yes, Sidney Laurence, is the foremost

painter of Alaskan sceneries. He first came to Alaska in 1903, he was here, there

everywhere. I think his first job was as a photographer in Juneau. Later in 1915, like most

fortune hunters, he came to Anchorage and worked for the railroad. Around the 1920s

he opened his own photography studio and lived in this hotel for parts of the 1920s 

and 1930s. Once he paid his one year's rent with a painting of Mount McKinley. Of

course on our next visit, we will search the hotel for the painting. Sidney Laurence

did a number of paintings of Mount McKinley, one of them is in the Anchorage 

Museum but I haven't figured out if this is the same.     

We also had the Alaska Engineering Commission Cottage and Leopold David House

on our list.  

Remember, if you don't feel like walking you can rent a bicycle, something I probably 

will do the next time. 

After Anchorage, we are off to Denali, Dawson, and then back to Vancouver. Pictures and information about the train ride to Denali are included in this post.