National Register Listing

Mt. Alyeska Roundhouse

a.k.a. Sundeck; Upper Terminal Chair Lift No. 1; Professional Ski Patrol Aid Station; AHRS Site No. SEW-00997

Approx. 2 mil W of Alyeska, Girdwood, AK

On an exposed ridge, 2, 280 feet above sea level, Alyeska Ski Corporation built the Mt. Alyeska Roundhouse in 1960. The building served as the house for the upper end of the operating mechanism of Alaska's first chairlift, as the top-of-the-mountain center for the ski patrol, and as a warm-up facility for downhill skiers. The distinctive octagonal roundhouse was used in summers as a visitor center for people to see an alpine environment and feast on a panoramic view encompassing two mountain ranges, seven glaciers, and an ocean expanse. Nearly, less than fifty years old, the roundhouse, built the year after Alaska became a state, represents the development of amenities to encourage winter recreation and summer tourism. It is also a symbol of the growth and development of southcentral Alaska, where more than half of the state's population lives today. Since 1960, the roundhouse has been the identifiable landmark of Alyeska Ski Resort, and arguably, for downhill skiing in Alaska. Both downhill skiing and tourism to the town of Girdwood, part of the Municipality of Anchorage, have steadily increased since 1960 and are mainstays of the community's economy. The resort started hosting major national and international ski races within a few years of opening. The period of significance for the Mt. Alyeska Roundhouse is 1960, the year it was constructed and the first year a chairlift operated at an Alaska downhill ski slope.

Scandinavians who came to Alaska as pioneer missionaries and reindeer herders to the Seward Peninsula in the late 1800s, along with those who participated in the gold rushes to Alaska and the Yukon at the same time. Around are known to have used skis to travel around Alaska during winters. the United States at the time, ski clubs were organized. One of the first was at Stowe, Vermont, where a group of Swedish immigrants organized a club in 1912. Finnish miners created a club at Telluride, Colorado, in 1924. By the 1930s a number of Alaskans skied, many for recreation during the long winters. Most probably would be called cross-country skiers today. But a number found going downhill easiest, fastest, and a great deal of fun. Where mountain roads were kept open in winter, skiers reportedly rode in a car up the road and skied down.

The first ski resorts in the United States, are at Stowe, Vermont, and Sun Valley. Idaho was established during the 1930s. The Union Pacific Railroad's W. B. Harriman started the latter in 1936. His idea was to have people travel by railroad to the site, where they would find plush railroad-owned lodges with fabulous restaurants and ski and sledding slopes. In Alaska at the same time, the Alaska Railroad advertised its Curry Lodge as a ski destination. During the 1930s, travelers on the railroad between Anchorage and Fairbanks spent the night at Curry. hotel built a warm-up hut at the top of Curry Ridge (listed in the National Register of Historic Places). Guests could ride horses to it and ski down, or ski along the ridge.

After World War II, veterans of the U.S. Army's 10 Mountain Division, who had climbed and skied mountains throughout North America as part of their training promoted chairlifts that could transport skiers uphill. The first, designed by Jim Curran, a Union Pacific Railroad engineer, was installed at Sun Valley in the 1940s.

In Alaska, new recreational downhill ski areas developed after World War 11. The largest development was in Arctic Valley, a short distance north of the City of Anchorage, a town whose population more than doubled during the war and would increase substantially again in the next decade. After a series of rope tows were installed by the military at Arctic Valley, civilians organized the Anchorage Ski Club, leased adjacent public land, and installed rope tows.

At the same time, three downhill ski enthusiasts, Joe Gayman, Sven Johanssen, and Ernie Bauman thought Mt. Alyeska, forty miles south of Anchorage, could be one of the best mountains in the world for skiing. They also were interested in the economic future of the small town of Girdwood at the base of the mountain. In 1951 a road linking Anchorage and Girdwood was completed. Prior, the communities had been connected only by the Alaska Railroad.

Gayman, Johanssen, and Bauman got eleven men to organize Alyeska Ski Corporation as a nonprofit organization in 1956. They prepared a development plan and filed paperwork to get the U.S. Government to lease or sell them 160 acres of land at the base of Mt. Alyeska. A 10th Mountain Division veteran, Dan Hill, was one of the early promoters of the ski area. The Girdwood Community Club helped raise money to purchase the land. Alyeska Ski Corporation was reorganized as a for-profit venture in 1957. At least by 1958, helicopters were lifting skiers, among them well-known Anchorage residents Carl Brady and Link Lockett, up the mountain so they could ski down.

Alaska became the 49th state in the union on January 3, 1959. Alaskans were interested in pursuing new economic development projects now that they could direct their own affairs. They believed recreation and tourism were areas of particular promise. The new state made some of its first selections of land as provided for under the statehood act in the Girdwood area.

The Alyeska Ski Corporation's dollar-a-share stock brought in some money, but not enough. The corporation hired Frances Richins Clark of Anchorage to find investors interested in financing the construction of a ski lift. Aspen, Colorado, Clark met Francois Frenchy' de Gunzburg, an oil-lease broker for Owanah Oil Company and a baron who was a member of the Rothschild banking family. His Denver-based company had a number of oil leases in Alaska. de Gunzburg convinced his company to invest in the first phase of development at Mt. Alyeska which included installing a Pomalift, clearing ski trails, and constructing a small lodge and manager's living quarters at the base of the hill. It was the first sizeable investment in a commercial recreational ski facility in Alaska.

de Gunzburg's vision was an international ski resort on Mt. Alyeska that would attract visitors from Southeast Asia and Europe, building on Anchorage's growing importance as an air crossroads of the world and an important stop on the over-the-pole air route between Europe and Southeast Asia. He believed marketing that built on perceptions of Alaska as the quintessential wilderness had the potential to attract thousands of skiers to Mt. Alyeska. de Gunzburg planned to have winter visitors ride a chairlift up Mt. Alyeska to ski, and summer visitors ride the chairlift for incomparable views. To complete his plan, there would be a building at the top of the lift that served as a warm-up facility for skiers in winter and Although de Gunzburg and offered a viewing deck for visitors in summer. Owanah heavily subsidized Alyeska Ski Resort during the first years, it was discovered by foreign skiers and was especially popular with employees of international airlines using .nchorage as a refueling base.

de Gunzburg ordered a 5,700-foot double chair lift for the new ski area. It would be the first chairlift on an Alaska ski slope. He hired Edward Gendzwill to build the structure for the upper terminal of the chairlift in 1960. de Gunzburg decided the building should be a roundhouse. The lower level was the chairlift's upper terminal and had storage and space for staff and the ski patrol. The second floor served as a warm-up shelter provided food service in the winter, and served as a restaurant and viewing On a clear day, visitors could see a platform for visitors in the summer. seven nearby glaciers, two mountain ranges and the east end of Turnagain The chairlift and warm-up shelter opened Arm from the viewing deck. December 25, 1960.

From the time it opened, Alyeska Ski Resort was popular with Anchorage In ten years it was residents. In 1960, the city's population was 82,833. 126, 385. During the 1960s, a number of people in the City of Anchorage purchased land in the Girdwood townsite and built cabins so they could de Gunzburg sold more company stock spend weekends in the winter skiing. in December 1962 to lease an additional 233 acres at the base of ME. Alyeska for a subdivision. It soon had eighty residences.

Since 1980, Between 1967 and 1980 Alaska Airlines owned the ski resort. In 1972, a second Seibu Alaska, Inc. has been the owner and operator. In 1974, the owners added a rectangular chairlift was built at the resort. building for the Sky Ride Restaurant that could be accessed from the roundhouse. The second floor of the roundhouse continued to be a warm-up area. Historic photographs and early ski equipment were displayed in glass. cases on the walls. Ir. 1979, the owners replaced the original chair lift and constructed a separate building a short distance below the roundhouse In 1993 a new building was replaced: for the new chair's bull wheel mechanism. the 1974 building. The roundhouse was not demolished, although the siding on the ground floor was removed because much of it was in need of replacement. The roundhouse continued through the years to be used by the ski patrol as a dispatch station.

After it opened in 1960, Alyeska Ski Resort quickly became Alaska's largest ski area. It started hosting major ski competitions with the 1964 U.S. Olympic Trials. Since then, it has hosted the 1969 Junior Nationals, the 1973 World Cup Giant Slalom races, the 1987 World Masters Championship races, the 1993 World Junior Olympic Competition, and the 1995 and 1997 U.S. Alpine Masters Championships. For many years during the 1960s and 1970s, it was the site of the International Airline Ski Races. Tommy Moe, U.S. Olympic ski team member and winner in 1994 of a gold medal in downhill skiing and a silver in Super G at Lillehammer, Norway, spent his early teens at Girdwood skiing on Alyeska's slopes.

Nearing fifty years old, the roundhouse is the identifiable landmark of Alyeska Resort. It is the oldest known standing building representing downhill skiing in southcentral Alaska. Since its construction, the roundhouse has been referenced by skiers to identify where they will be or can be met. It has become a symbol of Alaska's superb winter recreation opportunities. In part because of these associations, the owners plan to restore the roundhouse to its 1960 appearance.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2003.