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