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...

Kimball's Store (Anchorage, AK)

I'm back from a brief hiatus due to slow internet and other non-internety things that had to be done this week. So today's post is on Kimball's Store.  It was constructed in 1915 and is the only structure from the original townsite to be in its original location.  That's mighty impressive for Anchorage.  It's pretty simple in its wood-frame construction and Hoagland even describes it as "plain to the point of homeliness", but it is one of the best examples of commerical storefronts from the "first generation" buildings and in the same spot to boot!  (The buildings constructed at the time of Anchorage's initial founding are considered first generation. The buildings constructed during the WWII boom are considered second generation.  I haven't heard of later buildings described as third or fourth generations, but it is a good way to pin point the series of economic and subsequent constructions booms in Anchorage over the years.)

Here is the "homely" building:

It's pretty amazing that it's still standing in its present location.  In fact, the National Register nomination was written in 1986 and you can see from the nomination photographs that a series of older (possibly 1950s) buildings were present along the street with similar scale and purpose. 

However, today it is the only building left on the square block.  It is surrounded by the Town Square Municipal Park, with the very large 80s-riffic Alaska Center for the Performing Arts right next to it.

Notice the "Vote for Tony" sign painted on the side of the building has been replaced by colorful moose.

This last remaining first generation building has got me thinking about a series that someone in New Orleans did called "dat ain't dere no more".  The series focused on old buildings and establishments that no longer existed, yet still held a special place in the heart of many New Orleanians.  And while I'm new to Alaska, there are some great buildings that I've come across through research that are no longer with us.  Perhaps a future post will be dedicated to those fine and forgotten buildings.

Hopefully the sun will be out so I can take some "happier" building shots this weekend.  As a great architectural historian once told me, "you can make anything eligible with the right weather and lighting. Lanscaping helps too."  More to come....

Wendler Building or Club 25 (Anchorage, AK)

I'm back from a wonderfully sunny weekend here in Alaska.  When I moved up in late-August it was kinda rainy and then it turned to fall, and then the darkness of winter.  So this is the first really great season I've had up here.  We have about 17 hours of daylight now.  It's pretty amazing.  Not good for getting to bed at a reasonable time, but I'm making up for the vitamin D that was lacking over the winter. 

Today, I'm posting a little on the Wendler Building, also known as Club 25.  I like this building a lot.  It's what you imagine when you think of a western frontier town (even though Anchorage isn't really a frontier town).  Before I moved up here and did a little research, I thought all the buildings would look like this.  Ah, well...

The building was constructed in 1915 and operated as a grocery store by A.J. Wendler and R. C. Larson.  According to The Buildings of Alaska by Alison Hoagland, the building had been owned by the Wendler family until 1983.  The building was originally located on Fourth Avenue and I Street, but was moved to avoid demolition.  This is one of the few states I've been in where moving a structure does not automatically disqualify it for listing in the National Register.  I must say, it's refreshing, but could also open a can of worms if more specific guidelines are not in place.  In Louisiana, where I worked for the past 4 years, moving a building (even to the next lot over) was a cardinal sin.  Only recently, after Hurricane Katrina, did moving a building bring up a discussion rather than automatic exclusion.  And I suppose the earthquake of 1964 is part of the reason moving buildings is acceptable here.  If they were not to be moved, they would have been destroyed.  It's a delicate balance, that I think everyone is still trying to better understand.  I've always considered myself a practical preservationist and it's situations like this where discussion is key to really preserve what matters.

The Wendler Building now sits on Fourth and D. 

I'm not exactly sure what's going on with the red brick building around it, but it seems as though it's about to be engulfed by it. 

Here is a photo of the structure from 1917.  As you can see there have been some modifications to the building, but it retains much of its form and that lovely turret. (Man, I'm a sucker for a nice turret)  I think this is the only turret in Anchorage. 

This photo was taken during the Fur Rondy in February.  They actually had to import snow downtown as it all melted away right before the ceremonial start of the iditarod.  You can see the sign for Club 25 better from this angle.  Club 25 began in 1948 when Mr. Wendler's daughters opened up a women's club, which then turned into a supper club.  Below is an image taken in 1956:

On a side note, I couldn't find any reference to the Wendler Building on the NR website.  NPS began updating their old database (which used to just list the properties and the date added, with little other information) with his new database that has scanned copies of all the NR nominations and photos.  It's pretty amazing.  And all of Alaska's resources seem to be up to date (only a few in Louisiana were last time I checked).  It's a great resource for preservationists and anyone interested in what's listed in your community and why.

http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/

Yet, I couldn't find anything for the Wendler Building on the website.  Not sure if it's just a mistake or if it's not listed.  At any rate, it's a great building, with a story that really shows the history of the built environment of downtown Anchorage.

Mapping Skillz (or lack there of)

Today is such a lovely day, I thought I'd take some more photos of more historic buildings.  In order to do that, I needed to map out where they were.  I used google maps (as google earth seems to be a bit wonky on my new computer), so it's not the greatest map.  More useful for my purposes than anything else, but here it is:


View NR Properties Anchorage Area in a larger map

Also, the Bear Awareness class was a success.  If by a success one means scaring the crap out of a city girl whose only experience with wildlife are rats and unusually large flying roaches.  (They really didn't need to show the bear eating the tent.)

Happy Friday!

City Hall (Anchorage, AK)

Today is going to be a short entry for a couple of reasons.  First, I've got a bear awareness class to attend in a bit.  Second, not really a fan of this building.  Don't get me wrong.  In the context of Anchorage architecture, it's great.  But the classical form and elements seem out of place for the time period and location.  However, back in early 1930s Anchorage, I imagine the classical references are just what the new town of Anchorage was looking for.  Something substantial.  None of that clean lines and stream-lined stuff for the building that would house every operation of the 20 year old city.  They needed something that would represent the stability and growth of the city.  So here it is:

It was designed by the local architect E. Ellsworth Sedille, who designed quite a few really exceptional buildings in Anchorage.  On a side note, after doing some research for work on the history of Anchorage, it becomes apparent that there are a handful of great local architects.  Sedille is certainly one of them and more of his work will be posted soon. Constructed in 1936, City Hall was a Public Works Administration project. 
Today it house the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau.

I'm going to try to include a historic shot with a contemporary at the same angle.  Hopefully that will show any changes to the structures and surrounding area.

And lastly, a bit of animal cruelty in front of the historic structure.  Poor doggy!

The Federal Building (Anchorage, AK) & a bit of a pre-Ramble

I suppose I should better explain what I'm doing.  In an effort to better familiarize myself with the historic resources of Alaska, I'm first looking at the National Register-listed properties (in Anchorage, as that's where I live, but hopefully getting out to other areas this summer) to get a sense of the significance of each property and ultimately develop a personal database for historic properties in Alaska.  There are currently 28 listed properties within the National Register database for the Anchorage area.  A few are archaeological sites, a few are located outside the city on private property and a couple may have been demolished or moved, so I'll just be photographing and posting on those properties I can find.  In addition to NR-listed properties, there are dozens of interesting standing structures that may not be listed or even eligible for listing, but hold a special place in my heart.  (Yes, buildings can hold a place in your heart.  Several districts in New Orleans come to mind.)  I'll be posting on some of those as well.  So, this blog is really a personal effort to grow as a preservationist and to help make Alaska feel more like home to me.

OK, Back to cool buildings!

The Federal Building is located right across the street from the Fourth Avenue Theater in the heart of downtown Anchorage.  (I'm seeing the need for maps...)  It was designed by the California-based architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood and constructed in 1939-41.  Described as "New Deal Concrete", this massive structure takes up and entire city block and has changed very little since its construction.  I have yet to go inside, but I have been to the reindeer sausage hot dog stand out front, which are made out of no more than 10% reindeer meat.  Go figure. 

And due to traffic, trees and my very little digital camera, I couldn't get a really good shot of this big, big building.  Luckily, the Alaska Digital Archives and the NR database have some great photos:

This last photo is when Alaska became the 49th state in 1959. 

The Fourth Avenue Theater (Anchorage, AK)

I figured I'd start with one of my favorites.  This is the Fourth Avenue Theater located in downtown Anchorage.  It was designed by B. Marcus Priteca and Augustine A. Poreca between 1941 and 1947.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. 

It truly is an art deco gem here in Alaska.  However, it is currently sitting vacant.  The Alaska Association for Historic Preservation had it listed on the 10 Most Endangered Properties List in 2008.  Let's hope this theater can be brought back into use.  Nothing sadder than an empty building (well, one being demolished is technically more sad, but still...)

And here's a little 1980s retro HABS photo with a more, er, "rustic" color palette:

And the current "Miami Vice" color scheme: