Anchorage City Hall
a.k.a. AHRS ANC-240
524 W. 4th Ave., Anchorage, AKThe significance of the City Hall rests on the following: the original town plan as platted by the Alaska Engineering Commission; the architectural attributes of the building; and the building's symbolism of civic government.
During the summer of 1915 the Alaska Engineering Commission (A.E.C), the federal agency which developed the Alaska Railroad, created the Anchorage Townsite. Andrew Christensen of the General Land office and Captain Frederick Mears of the Alaska Engineering Commission collaborated in platting and surveying the Original Townsite during May and June 1915. Their deliberate efforts in creating a town were necessitated because of the temporary settlement known as "Tent City". This chaotic camp was composed of construction workers and others seeking rail road-related business opportunities. The AEC platted a series of blocks using a grid pattern. Among them was the Municipal Reserve. During the initial five years of Anchorage's existence, the town was managed by Alaska Engineering Commission. It was not until 1922, two years after incorporation that the Municipal Reserve was deeded to the City of Anchorage. Prior to 1936, the year that City Hall was built, the Reserve contained a Fire Hall, a small, framed municipal building, and a set of tennis courts. The term, Municipal Reserve, has been appropriate: this block in the heart of the townsite has continuously been used for Municipal purposes.
As of 1936, Anchorage had experienced a lull in its development. Born during the boom of railroad construction some twenty years earlier, its growth was stagnant during the 1920s and 1930s. The lack of growth was reflected in the town's architecture. Few new buildings had been constructed along Fourth Avenue after 1920. Thus the frame construction of the early false-fronted commercial establishments and the pitched-roofed public buildings formed the townscape. The construction of City Hall marked a major change in Anchorage's townsite development; in fact, one local headline proclaimed that the ''New Building Will Mark (the) Downtown Skyline as (the) Hub of Municipal Government.
City Hall, with the solid, pretentious image of its time, started the "Second Generation of Anchorage architecture, an era of building in which case, reinforced concrete was widely used in a series of public buildings. Other Second Generation buildings included the Central Grade School (1938), Providence Hospital (1938), and the Federal Building (1939, listed on the National Register in 1977). City Hall ushered in the new building era, and although it retained many classical elements, the building moved Anchorage toward the era of modern architecture.
In March 1935, Anchorage Mayor O. S. Gill called a special meeting of the City Council to place a $75,000 bond proposal before the taxpayers to build City Hall under National Recovery Act provisions. Later that year the bond issue passed in a landslide vote of 452 in favor and 59 against.
Local significance of the building:
During the summer of 1915 the Alaska Engineering Commission (A.E.C), the federal agency which developed the Alaska Railroad, created the Anchorage Townsite. Andrew Christensen of the General Land office and Captain Frederick Mears of the Alaska Engineering Commission collaborated in platting and surveying the Original Townsite during May and June 1915. Their deliberate efforts in creating a town were necessitated because of the temporary settlement known as "Tent City". This chaotic camp was composed of construction workers and others seeking rail road-related business opportunities. The AEC platted a series of blocks using a grid pattern. Among them was the Municipal Reserve. During the initial five years of Anchorage's existence, the town was managed by Alaska Engineering Commission. It was not until 1922, two years after incorporation that the Municipal Reserve was deeded to the City of Anchorage. Prior to 1936, the year that City Hall was built, the Reserve contained a Fire Hall, a small, framed municipal building, and a set of tennis courts. The term, Municipal Reserve, has been appropriate: this block in the heart of the townsite has continuously been used for Municipal purposes.
As of 1936, Anchorage had experienced a lull in its development. Born during the boom of railroad construction some twenty years earlier, its growth was stagnant during the 1920s and 1930s. The lack of growth was reflected in the town's architecture. Few new buildings had been constructed along Fourth Avenue after 1920. Thus the frame construction of the early false-fronted commercial establishments and the pitched-roofed public buildings formed the townscape. The construction of City Hall marked a major change in Anchorage's townsite development; in fact, one local headline proclaimed that the ''New Building Will Mark (the) Downtown Skyline as (the) Hub of Municipal Government.
City Hall, with the solid, pretentious image of its time, started the "Second Generation of Anchorage architecture, an era of building in which case, reinforced concrete was widely used in a series of public buildings. Other Second Generation buildings included the Central Grade School (1938), Providence Hospital (1938), and the Federal Building (1939, listed on the National Register in 1977). City Hall ushered in the new building era, and although it retained many classical elements, the building moved Anchorage toward the era of modern architecture.
In March 1935, Anchorage Mayor O. S. Gill called a special meeting of the City Council to place a $75,000 bond proposal before the taxpayers to build City Hall under National Recovery Act provisions. Later that year the bond issue passed in a landslide vote of 452 in favor and 59 against.
Community Planning And Development; Politics/government; Architecture
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
About National Register Listings
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
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The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, signed into law in 1971, was the largest land settlement in United States history. The act provided for the transfer of over 44 million acres of land and nearly $1 billion to Alaska Native corporations.