Wednesday
October 20, 2004
The
State Capitol and Its Marble
and keeping the capital in Juneau
By June Allen
A recent news item in
the Anchorage daily paper mentioned that a group of Juneau boosters,
chaired by Mayor Bruce Botelho, hope to build a new Alaska Capitol
building to be leased to the state at completion. They call themselves
the Capitol Planning Commission and expect to announce a nationwide
design competition in November. A new Capitol building would
replace Juneau's present six-story Art Deco treasure. The old
six-story building, its imposing façade featuring four
gracious marble columns quarried in Southeastern Alaska, is a
stately structure matching the grandeur of the setting that is
home to picturesque downtown Juneau.
But the still sturdy and timelessly
elegant 75-year-old building obviously needs renovated and perhaps
put to another use. Before that happens, there definitely is
a need for a new Capitol to replace it. The historic building's
age and shortcomings could very well be used as the target and
political banner waved for yet another capital move effort by
Anchorage area interests. But that's politics and this is a story
of a building and of the region its marble adornments came from.
Alaska's Capitol building was
designed and built in 1929-30 for a legislative body of only
eight senators and 16 representatives who met every other year
for 60 days. In those days only the third floor was occupied
by the offices of the territorial governor, the lieutenant governor
(called the Secretary of Alaska back then) plus the territorial
auditor, treasurer and highways engineer and the legislative
chambers! Legislators back then and even until the oil
boom didn't have staff, much less offices in the Capitol!
- Read
the rest of this story by June Allen...
Wednesday - October 20, 2004
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June Allen Column
 A
Legendary Mountain of Jade; Just one of Alaska's Arctic Wonders
- Alaska is a state of superlatives. It is the nation's largest
state. We drive past or fly over America's highest mountain.
We can visit the nation's deepest cave on Prince of Wales Island,
admire the waters of our state's longest coastline and enjoy
the midnight sun's longest days. Most of us, however, will
never see our superlative example of the Alaska State Gem - jade.
That's because Jade Mountain, an entire mountain made of beautiful
dark green jade, is far from any Alaska road system. - More...
Tuesday - October 05, 2004
 John
Koel, Baker to Banker; An eccentric philanthropist
Harold
Gillam: A Tragic Final Flight; Ketchikan remembers the search
Ketchikan's
'Fish House Tessie'; She was proud of the nickname
Fairbanks:
Golden Heart City; A story of its founding
Remembering
'Swede' Risland (1915-1991);The town's most memorable logger
Alaska's
Deepwater Highway; A part of Alaska history
Ketchikan's
American Legionnaires; Here's to 'the boys' of Post #3 -
Ketchikan's
Cruise Ship Industry; A light-hearted look at its origins
Ketchikan's
First City Players; Did you hear that applause?
A
biography of Alaska's herring: A little fish of huge importance...
Read more stories by June Allen...
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