History

Brian Wallace / Juneau Empire Archives Marie Darlin unpacks her record collection as she moves into her fifth-floor apartment in Fireweed Place.

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of July 29

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Brian Wallace / Juneau Empire Archives Marie Darlin unpacks her record collection as she moves into her fifth-floor apartment in Fireweed Place.
The Franklin Street view of AELP’s 1930s building reveals its Art Deco architectural style, characterized by geometric features. The power company’s name is recessed in cast concrete. N. Lester Troast Co. designed the building which R. J. Somers constructed. The five-story Goldstein Emporium rises in the background with Douglas Island hills beyond. (Photo courtesy AELP)

Rooted in Community: AEL&P building makes news, power moves and whisky

Building that debuted in 1937 evolves from historic appliance showroom to modern-day distillery

The Franklin Street view of AELP’s 1930s building reveals its Art Deco architectural style, characterized by geometric features. The power company’s name is recessed in cast concrete. N. Lester Troast Co. designed the building which R. J. Somers constructed. The five-story Goldstein Emporium rises in the background with Douglas Island hills beyond. (Photo courtesy AELP)
Brian Wallace / Juneau Empire Archives Members of Juneau’s Hawaiian and Native communities help pull the Hawai’iloa closer to shore at Sandy Beach on July 14, 1995.

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for the week of July 15

Three decades of capital city coverage.

Brian Wallace / Juneau Empire Archives Members of Juneau’s Hawaiian and Native communities help pull the Hawai’iloa closer to shore at Sandy Beach on July 14, 1995.
Alaska State Library Historical Collection P418-3 President Warren G. Harding (with walking stick) stands beside his wife (in cape) before Mendenhall Glacier on July 10, 1923. To Mrs. Harding’s side is Alaska Territorial Gov. Scott Bone (with mustache) and his niece Marguerite Bone.

100 years ago Juneau got its first visit from a U.S. president — less than three weeks before his death

Warren G. Harding got a “21 discharges of dynamite” salute and Mendenhall Glacier tour during visit

Alaska State Library Historical Collection P418-3 President Warren G. Harding (with walking stick) stands beside his wife (in cape) before Mendenhall Glacier on July 10, 1923. To Mrs. Harding’s side is Alaska Territorial Gov. Scott Bone (with mustache) and his niece Marguerite Bone.
By 1914 when this photo was taken, Juneau had developed into an established city. The Victorian era turreted Alaska Steam Laundry (built 1901) is seen on the left, while other buildings such as the Alaskan Hotel and Central Rooming House are on the right. The rooming house was reconstructed in the 1980s. It is now the Senate Mall. (Alaska State Library-P31-021).

Rooted in Community: Alaska Steam Laundry and the MacKinnon Family

Perhaps sharing the leading roles in Juneau High School’s 1915 theatrical play clinched the relationship that bloomed into the MacKinnon family legacy of keeping Juneau… Continue reading

By 1914 when this photo was taken, Juneau had developed into an established city. The Victorian era turreted Alaska Steam Laundry (built 1901) is seen on the left, while other buildings such as the Alaskan Hotel and Central Rooming House are on the right. The rooming house was reconstructed in the 1980s. It is now the Senate Mall. (Alaska State Library-P31-021).
Owners Patsy Anderson-Dunn and Kim Anderson in front of Mendenhall Mall today. (Courtesy Photo / Patsy Anderson-Dunn)

Skateland to Glam: A history of the Mendenhall Mall

If you think the Mendenhall Mall is dead, you haven’t been there lately. Three years ago, Mendenhall Mall — the 200,000-square-foot shopping center in the… Continue reading

Owners Patsy Anderson-Dunn and Kim Anderson in front of Mendenhall Mall today. (Courtesy Photo / Patsy Anderson-Dunn)
Children sit in a dugout canoe Wednesday in the Southeast Alaska village of Angoon. The dugout was dedicated to mark the 140th anniversary of the bombardment of Angoon. In 1882, the U.S. Navy opened fire on Angoon, burning the village and destroying all but one in its fleet of canoes. The new dugout was carved by Tlingit master carver Wayne Price and students in the Chatham School District. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

‘Once again, Angoon has a dugout’: Village residents welcome dugout canoe 140 years after bombardment

It’s the first dugout canoe in Angoon since the U.S. destroyed the village’s fleet in 1882.

Children sit in a dugout canoe Wednesday in the Southeast Alaska village of Angoon. The dugout was dedicated to mark the 140th anniversary of the bombardment of Angoon. In 1882, the U.S. Navy opened fire on Angoon, burning the village and destroying all but one in its fleet of canoes. The new dugout was carved by Tlingit master carver Wayne Price and students in the Chatham School District. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Leeann Thomas, third-generation owner of the Triangle Club, stands before the business her grandfather started in 1947. The location has a long history of Juneau businesses. (Laurie Craig / For the Downtown Business Association)

Rooted in Community: The Triangle Club and 76 years of the Thomas family

Historical photos hang in the building that once housed the famous Winter and Pond photo studio.

Leeann Thomas, third-generation owner of the Triangle Club, stands before the business her grandfather started in 1947. The location has a long history of Juneau businesses. (Laurie Craig / For the Downtown Business Association)
During winter 2022-23, contractors replace the awning structure on the 1904-1913 Valentine Building. The historic building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Its location at the corner of Front and Seward streets is also within Juneau’s Downtown Historic District. (Laurie Craig / For the DBA)

Rooted in Community: The historic Valentine Building and the Findley Family

Many shops have occupied the Seward Street storefronts while Juneau Drug anchors the corner space.

During winter 2022-23, contractors replace the awning structure on the 1904-1913 Valentine Building. The historic building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Its location at the corner of Front and Seward streets is also within Juneau’s Downtown Historic District. (Laurie Craig / For the DBA)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Eric Schmalz gives a lecture at the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building Thursday afternoon. The lecture examined Alaska newspaper coverage of the American response to Nazism, racism, xenophobia and antisemitism during the 1930s and 1940s.

‘It isn’t long ago history’: Presentation focuses on Alaska newspaper coverage of the Holocaust

Event part of ongoing visiting exhibition at local library branch.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Eric Schmalz gives a lecture at the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building Thursday afternoon. The lecture examined Alaska newspaper coverage of the American response to Nazism, racism, xenophobia and antisemitism during the 1930s and 1940s.
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Lillian Petershoare speaks into a microphone during a Walter Soboleff Day presentation in the Walter Soboleff Building Monday afternoon. She was joined by members of the Kuneix Hidí Northern Light United Church’s Native Ministries Committee Barbara Searls, Maxine Richert and Myra Munson to talk about an overture developed by in 2021, which analyzed and openly outlined the injustices and racially charged motives that led to the closure of Soboleff’s church by the Presbyterian Church.

Walter Soboleff Day marked with pledge of action

Church leaders share details about planned apology for church closure

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Lillian Petershoare speaks into a microphone during a Walter Soboleff Day presentation in the Walter Soboleff Building Monday afternoon. She was joined by members of the Kuneix Hidí Northern Light United Church’s Native Ministries Committee Barbara Searls, Maxine Richert and Myra Munson to talk about an overture developed by in 2021, which analyzed and openly outlined the injustices and racially charged motives that led to the closure of Soboleff’s church by the Presbyterian Church.
This photo shows Juneau's Salmon Creek Dam. (Courtesy Photo / AEL&P)

Salmon Creek Dam to gain engineering landmark status

It’s not the only Southeast structure to earn the status.

This photo shows Juneau's Salmon Creek Dam. (Courtesy Photo / AEL&P)
Reverend Father Simeon Johnson, the rector for St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, left, stands in the church chapel with the recently enthroned Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sitka and Alaska, the Right Reverend Alexei on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Alexei was in Juneau to discuss rennovations to St. Nicholas, the second oldest Orthodox church in Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church prepares for a heavy lift

Alaska’s second-oldest Orthodox church.

Reverend Father Simeon Johnson, the rector for St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, left, stands in the church chapel with the recently enthroned Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sitka and Alaska, the Right Reverend Alexei on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Alexei was in Juneau to discuss rennovations to St. Nicholas, the second oldest Orthodox church in Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Courtesy photo / Sydney Akagi Photography Bartender Logan Terry pours a drink during an opening event for the Crystal Saloon, a newly overhauled bar downtown.

What’s old is new again: A Crystal Saloon returns to Juneau

It’s a name with a history reaching back over the last century.

Courtesy photo / Sydney Akagi Photography Bartender Logan Terry pours a drink during an opening event for the Crystal Saloon, a newly overhauled bar downtown.
Courtesy Photo / The White House The White House, heavily renovated over the years, has been the home of America’s presidents for most of the country’s history.

Quiz: Alaska and its history with the presidents

How much do you know about the state’s relationship with the commander-in-chief?

Courtesy Photo / The White House The White House, heavily renovated over the years, has been the home of America’s presidents for most of the country’s history.
Courtesy photo / United States Army Signal Corps The Color Guard of the 442nd RCT stands at attention while citations are read following the fierce fighting in the Vosges area of France on November 12, 1944.

‘Way above the call of duty in many cases’: Civil rights group to honor Japanese-American regiment on Day of Remembrance

They’re the most decorated unit in American history, without exception.

Courtesy photo / United States Army Signal Corps The Color Guard of the 442nd RCT stands at attention while citations are read following the fierce fighting in the Vosges area of France on November 12, 1944.
This undated photos shows National Day of Mourning plaque on Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Mass, where since 1970 Indigenous groups have gathered to mourn the history of colonization in North America. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the traditional "First Thanksgiving " in 1621, but for many Indigenous people, including Alaska Natives, the holiday is a somber one. (Courtesy photo / Creative commons)

Thanksgiving has somber context for Indigenous Americans

New narratives.

This undated photos shows National Day of Mourning plaque on Cole's Hill in Plymouth, Mass, where since 1970 Indigenous groups have gathered to mourn the history of colonization in North America. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the traditional "First Thanksgiving " in 1621, but for many Indigenous people, including Alaska Natives, the holiday is a somber one. (Courtesy photo / Creative commons)
Tlingit master carver Wayne Price, left, and students from Angoon High School wheel a dugout canoe down to the Angoon waterfront on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, for a ceremony commemorating the bombardment of the village by the U.S. Navy in 1882. Dugout canoes were specifically targeted by the navy for destruction, and Price said crafting a new one was a way of healing from the past. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Remembering and rebuilding: Angoon residents commemorate 139 years since bombardment

‘We’re still here.”

Tlingit master carver Wayne Price, left, and students from Angoon High School wheel a dugout canoe down to the Angoon waterfront on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, for a ceremony commemorating the bombardment of the village by the U.S. Navy in 1882. Dugout canoes were specifically targeted by the navy for destruction, and Price said crafting a new one was a way of healing from the past. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Teaser

Then Now: Looking back on pandemic response

Comparing messaging from 1918 to 2021

Teaser
In 1980, U.S. Coast Guard helicopters and cutters, assisted by the U.S. Air Force and the Canadian armed forces as well as civilian rescue and relief organizations, rescued more than 500 passengers and crew from the cruise ship Prinsendam in the Gulf of Alaska. (Courtesy photo / U.S. Coast Guard)

Rescuers recall Prinsendam fire following 41st anniversary

It’s been four decades since the Coast Guard’s biggest and most successful rescue.

In 1980, U.S. Coast Guard helicopters and cutters, assisted by the U.S. Air Force and the Canadian armed forces as well as civilian rescue and relief organizations, rescued more than 500 passengers and crew from the cruise ship Prinsendam in the Gulf of Alaska. (Courtesy photo / U.S. Coast Guard)