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.
Nice post, A.J. Wendler is my Great Grandfather and my mom grew up in that house. There use to be a porch off the side. We always had the Christmas tree in the turret.
ReplyDeleteAnton J. Wendler was the brother from Johanna Klusekemper, my Great Grandmother here in Germany.
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