Retro Alaska Blog Takes a New Turn

As many of you know, I've started a small crafting business called "Retro Alaska".  The crafts are mostly image transfers and inspired by the historic properties throughout the state.  Since I haven't been actively keeping up with blogging, my hopes are I will keep up with actively crafting and posting on my crafting.  So stay tuned....

An Ode to the 4th Avenue Theatre

It's been 3 years since I posted on this blog.  It started as a hobby after just moving up to Alaska while I was looking for work.  I was looking over some of the old posts to see if my preservation opinions have changed.   They haven't.  Unfortunately, what also hasn't changed is the state of the 4th Avenue Theatre.  Julia O'Malley recently wrote an article on the theatre leaving us with more questions than answers.  

http://www.adn.com/2013/11/09/3167621/julia-omalley-what-can-save-the.html

However, it did get us preservationists talking about the theatre again.  And that's a good thing.  The theatre is currently owned by a private developer.  While this normally makes a preservationist cringe, it's often private developers who are able to raise enough capital to restore a large historic building.  The concern is not knowing what the developer's intentions are.  And we don't know.  But what we can all do, and should do, is let the developer know, that this place matters!  It matters more than any other building in Anchorage!  It is the one building that the entire community values.  It's not a hard sell for preservationists.  Every Anchorage adult has wonderful memories of this building.  When "Cap" Lathorp built it, he called it "The Showplace of Alaska".  In his dedication brochure he goes on to explain his vision for creating this showplace:

"This theatre was building especially for Alaskans...It is the culmination of a sincere wish to bring the people of Anchorage, and visitors from all parts of Alaska, a theatre unexcelled on the American continent."

How disappointed Cap would be to see his showplace sitting vacant.  This beautiful Art Deco gem deserves a new life.  What can we do, you  ask?  Well, first, we can learn more about the 4th Avenue Theatre and what makes it significant.  Below are some links and photos to start the conversation.

The National Register of Historic Places Nomination From:

http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/82001620.pdf

And Photos (1980):

Photos from the Historic American Building Survey (1986):

And a few from 2010:

I'll be posting periodically when I get more information.  I hope this post will help start the discussion on the importance of preservation, even in the last frontier! 

"It has been said that, at it's best, preservation engages the past in a conversation with the present over a mutual concern for the future." - William Murtagh, first keeper of the National Register of Historic Places

House Hunting (or how I learned to like non-historic buildings)

As most of you know, Nick and I have put an offer on a house and are waiting (anxiously) to close.  The house was built in 1975, has been stripped of all 70s-retro-ness and is located in a South Anchorage subdivision.  This post is more me trying to rationalize how a preservationist didn't put an offer on a historic structure than anything else.   I was almost positive that my first house would have brackets.  Ornate Eastlake brackets like the one below:

But as I decided to leave New Orleans, I soon realized that I may not be able to find the side-hall shotgun with decorative wood detailing in Alaska.  So I focused more of my efforts and interest on the Minimal Traditional house which seemed so plentiful surrounding downtown Anchorage.  The Minimal Traditional house is pretty prevalent throughout the United States.  Most of the houses were funded through the Federal Housing Administration and provided WWII veterans with affordable and modest housing after returning home.  They were typically traditional in style and form.  Most took the Cape Cod form.  They were also very modest.  The houses tended to be two bedroom one-story homes with under 800 sq ft of living space.  Here is a great example of an un-altered Minimal Traditional house in the Fairview neighborhood, just east of downtown:

While the houses were cute (and that is a priority when searching for a home), they didn't really meet our needs.  Also, we were priced out of the neighborhood I wanted to live in (South Addition). 

I quickly realized that if we were going to have a 3-bedroom house with a yard (yard is Nick's requirement), I was going to have to change my criteria.  That meant looking at houses further south of downtown and more modern housing.  As someone who has a deep love for all things retro (mostly kitchens and furniture), the Split-Level seemed like best option for us.  This housing type was prevalent in Anchorage in the 1960s-1970s.  The main idea of the traditional Split-Level was to separate the public and entertaining spaces from the sleeping areas.  However, most of the Anchorage Split-Levels have a small vestibule at street level and stairs leading upstairs to the kitchen, formal living room and larger bedrooms and stairs leading down to the family room and smaller kids' bedrooms below.  Here is an example of a Split-Level in Rogers Park.  It was on the market for most of the winter, but by the time we were looking, it got snapped up:

We looked at several Split-Levels within our price range.  Unfortunately, our price range didn't seem to include a functioning roofing system.  After getting slightly discouraged, our real estate broker told us about a house way south of where we were looking.  I was reluctant to look at something so far away and when he forwarded us the photos, I thought "meh, no historic character."  That comment spawned an hour long conversation with Nick on the definition of character.  It was painful trying to explain why a house had to have old and outdated features to be an enjoyable place to live.  I'm still not sure why, but it does.  However, as Nick and I are here for the long-haul, we had to compromise if we were going to be homeowners.  So we put an offer on the non-descript 2-story (not even a Split-Level) house in the South Anchorage subdivision.  We are still waiting to close, but if things work out according to the real estate gods, we should be moving in at the end or the month.

So, since putting the offer on the house, I've been trying to figure out ways to retro-fy the house.  Luckily, I've managed to find quite a few mid-century modern pieces on craigslist and have been playing with color (thanks to the Sherwin Williams website).  So here's the kitchen in Aqua: 

Once the deal is sealed, I'll be posting more on the house and making it a retro home.  More to come...

It's all in the details

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post.  My first Alaskan summer is flying by (feels like it's raining by too.)  I have had the opportunity to see some amazing things this summer.  Some of the highlights were: a herd of musk ox chillin' near a Coast Guard Station, the musk ox farm in Palmer (yes, I like the musk ox), the red light district of Ketchikan, a sunny trip to Denali with bears everywhere (but not too close), hiking in a rain forest in the rain, camping on the Kenai Lake, the Arctic Studies Center at the museum, exploring the local farmers' markets and being able to test out my new bike and explore new neighborhoods. 

This post is just a sampling of some interesting little things I've noticed around town and throughout my travels.  Hope you enjoy!

Some inviting shutters at Savage Cabin in Denali National Park.  I'm assuming it's a bear deterrent, but probably works well on us overly curious folks as well. 

The Central Building entrance located on G St. and 3rd Ave.  The building had this great mid-century modern signage.  The rest of the building is pretty nice (original windows and some decorative concrete design), but there's a strange stone facade added to the first floor which is pretty distracting.  I imagine the inside might have some interesting retro detailing, but I wasn't sure if central meant public. (I'm also a bit more leery entering private property in a state with so many guns, but I digress.)

 

Metal grating near the Oscar Anderson House.  When I went by the house it wasn't open yet, but I did get to walk the perimeter and see all the decorative details on and around the house that is generally lacking in most of the buildings around Anchorage.  It's definitely the nicest little craftsman I've seen in Anchorage.

The Igloo Hotel, Cantwell, AK.  When we were driving up to Denali I got super excited when I saw this (those who know me know why), but we had a convoy going on, so we couldn't stop.  So I tried taking a photo on the way back, but I was too quick, then too slow.  So this is the best shot.  Turns out this building was just named as one of the 10 most endangered historic properties in Alaska by the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation.  Apparently, it's been sitting vacant for quite some time.  It's the only kitschy roadside architecture (which I love) that I've seen so far in Alaska. 

Inside the Heavy Duty Shed, Port Clarence, AK.  I was sent up to Port Clarence to document a Coast Guard Station that was going to be decommissioned.  This was the highlight architecturally speaking.  The exterior was all corrugated metal, so I assumed it was just a metal-framed structure.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this elaborate wood truss system.  The building pre-dates the coasties.  It was constructed shortly after WWII and is in great condition.

Musk ox!  There were the guys just hanging out with the coasties.  They are rapidly becoming my favorite pre-historic looking animal.  I especially love their "horn-do". 

Some toes from a totem pole in Ketchikan, AK.

A retro mailbox along Married Man's Trail.  Ketchikan, AK

Retro signage from Stewart's Photo Shop on 4th Avenue, Anchorage, AK. The entire facade is perfectly 50's.  I'm not sure how it's survived.  But as I just got a scratch on the lens of my camera, I may stop by and see what they can do.

That's all for now.  I've got dozens more to share, but the sun is setting and bedtime is near.

My Trip to Ketchikan

Each night after work, I've been meaning to write on this blog, but my eyes begin to dilate and the last thing I want to do is stare at a computer screen after staring at on at work all day.  I just realized that it's been a month since I've posted anything.  I said that a job wouldn't get in the way of things, but how often it does. 

So, this past week, I went to Ketchikan for work.  The work required a site visit and photo-documentation of a structure near Whitman Lake.  The building itself wasn't anything to write home (or blog) about, but the town of Ketchikan was awesome.  I had always wanted to go to southeastern Alaska and I finally had my opportunity.  It (of course) rained while I was there, but that's what makes everything so wonderfully green and ridiculously damp.  The Tongass National Forest was amazing.  The red light district was amusing.  The cruise ship were enormous.  All in all a great trip.  Here are a couple of highlights:

Here is the old red light district.  The seafoam building was the brothel of Dolly.  It was a hoot.

A totem pole outside of the Totem Heritage Center.

The Steadman-Thomas National Register Historic District.

The Ketchikan Federal Building. (I'm a sucker for government moderne)

Cruise and clouds looming over the city.

A little cottage with a lot of moss.

I'm extremely happy that my new job is giving me the opportunity to explore and research many places in Alaska.  What's next?  Not a clue... 

Cooper Landing Post Office (Cooper Landing, AK)

For Memorial Day Weekend, we went camping at the Quartz Creek Campground along the Kenai Lake.  The campground is in Cooper Landing, a small town on the Kenai Peninsula.  This was my first chance to really get out of Anchorage and it was beautiful.  Sunday afternoon, we went over to the Cooper Landing Museum.  I didn't know anything about the town or its history, so the museum was a pleasant surprise.  The museum is actually the old Cooper Landing Post Office, which was listed on the National Register in 1977.  It looks different than it did back in 1977, but it still has its distinctive ornamental facade and rustic appearance.  I'm not sure exactly what happened, but the older addition seems to have been removed and an different older building looks as though it was attached to the original structure.  Perhaps this was done when the property was made into a museum.

Here is a photo from the 1977 nomination:

I didn't have an opportunity to look at the NR nomination before the trip, so I'm learning more about Cooper Landing and the post office more now.  Next time, I'll make sure to see if there are any NR properties near our campsites (you'd think a building geek would already do that).  In addition to the post office, there was also a nomination for a historic district.  It consisted of 5 buildings.  I have a feeling that the newer addition is one of those buildings, added to the post office in hopes of saving the building from demolition.  However, this is only speculation.

The interior of the museum was chock-full of memorabilia and things from the history of Cooper Landing.  It reminded me of an old antique store, but with lots more dead animals in it.

Here's an old photo I found from the Alaska Digital Archives.  It shows a bus to Seward and a wooden bridge that crosses the Kenai River.  There was no approximate date online and it's times like these, that I wish I knew something about automobiles to date structures.  Nevertheless, it's a great shot and shows the importance of the post office as the focal point of the community.

Below are a few details of the building construction. 

Finally, an added treat to the museum was the presence of two adorable sled dogs.  You could go into their cage and pet them.  They were shy, but liked to be pet.  I am a crazy cat lady, but those blue eyes could convert just about anyone.

I'm not sure what my next mini-adventure will be, but hopefully, I'll be getting out of the city more and enjoying the amazing scenery that Alaska has to offer.

Anchorage Hotel Annex (Anchorage, AK)

It sure has been a busy week.  I started this blog because I had a little too much free time on my hands and somehow it's almost vanished this past week.  I started a new job, had a house guest and have been trying to soak up as much vitamin D as possible.  Doesn't leave much time for blogging.

At any rate, today I'm posting a bit on the Anchorage Hotel Annex.  Located at the corner of 4th and E, this building gets overlooked for an obvious reason.  A bear.  Yup, a bear.  The first floor retail space is a souvenir shop and to get tourists' attention, they've placed a pretty large bear on the corner of the building.  I honestly didn't notice that the building was historic until walking around the side to the hotel entrance.

If you can get past the bear (which could be considered an adverse effect if you really think about it), you'll notice that the building has a sorta gothic moderne style to it.  It was designed by E. Ellsworth Sedille in 1936 as an addition to the original Anchorage Hotel which was located where the Hilton currently stands. 

I found a few photos online of the original Anchorage Hotel and this was the only photo that showed the two buildings together and how they compliment each other.  Below is the current juxtaposition:

The Anchorage Hotel Annex is a good example of second generation Anchorage architecture. 

I think as the weather continues to get nicer and the days continue to get longer, my posts will continue to get shorter.  I'm sure I'll make up for it in December...