HomeMy WebLinkAbout06102024 City Council Laydown - Brown and Hawkins Homer NewsHomaf Nfvn rh,wvir, MY( ?. tt}la A3
Seward buildings included in national historic survey
Br Eutut. Srtulraats
11 nrgrr N,n"
Visitors 10 the Library of
Congress will be able to cake a
sirtual tour of the historic Brown
and flawklns store buildings
located In Seward, and explore
all parts of the properties_ local
historian Doug Caprarxpfalned.
The buildings, which are
located at207.209 on nth Avenue
about two blocks from the shore
or Resurrection lsay, recently
wore included in the Historic
American Suildtrip Sunny in the
library of Cong7esa with techni-
cal and adm mi s1 ra1 isr assi stance
front the National Park Srnwcc-
The survey is a component of
the congressional Historic Sites
Act of 193S. The site was listed
on National Register of Historic
Places in 19M.
The a urvey docu ments trid ude
measured drawings, digital
p holuipa phi of nrry cornponen t
of the building and an extensive
building and structural history
that %ill be housed to the library
of Congress in Washington. D.C.
The senior historical archl-
ten and project manager is
Grant Crosby, who works for
the National Park Service in
Anchorage.
Owner Iris Darling sold she has
secufglyd too a watalnabie Are
suppression system In rlie budd-
ingx T he current system hat been
in the buildusg since 1931 but it
has been difficult 10 sunny the
building dur 10 the age of the
The Browns R Hawkins storefront is photo #0i4d in Sawed on Satwdty.
April 20
sgructure- She noted that in 113-W
the community of Seward did
experience a Rrr tltar took out tWf
of the sawn.
Mien she started to reach out
for funding assistance, she was
connected to Crosby silo told hef
he thought he could help.
'It was Iris idea to put these
bid] dings on the hlstoric sunny';
she said.
She said Seward's Fourth
Avrnu a 3heatre also had a BASS
survey conducted on that site
before the buildings were torn
down.
Crosby confirmed In a phone
Interview that the entire proj-
ect started with the intention of
Installing an adequalr fur system
due to the level of precise derail
used to sunny the buitdings- for
example. the architectural draw.
Ings are within 11Bth of an inch
of accuracy of the building struc-
ture, t:rosby said. Additional
materials used in the survey are
two digital wannem
Contract crew for the wFvey
was AECOM based out of Port-
land, Oregon. NAttonal Park
Service crew Patience Stuart,
pni eKi manages and senior amW-
teaural historian; Autumn Buck -
ridge architettun it historian; and
John Wachtel, historical archi-
tect, provided the compositional
componrrim Fred Ilirschmann
from Glacier View, Alaska.
provided photography.
'The Surv-ey'ots measured
n•ery in ch end dImenslon of that
building. It's 'very Impressive: Brvwnand [fawkinscant ributerl
Dartkng uId. to Srwatd.
The b" ding& wrtr coratructed
'They purchased a barge
in Seward between 1904 and known as the Betiha an d took the
1Wand housedseward'sfirst shiptptothe mud Ilatso[whatis
commercial butinesses and the nowkninwrimAnchoragr.There.
Bank of Seward, whlth preceded
they wid pru isions to srtclets iri
the National Bank of Alaska,
thetertuary.
accotding to documentation
'Bertha was often referred to
provided try Datting.
ss'the Anchorage' whrrr miners
The builds ngs have been in the
and trapper* shopped for prom
Ilawbins famlly since they were
[ions. When the town of Anchor,
construiried.and are nrnwoptnt-
age was fotmcd. RFrJWn and
Ing tinder the Ilounh Krneradars of
Hawkins opened one of the fits(
tht famity.
stores and thr first bank at 4 t h
Darling's husband, laugh
and Dstrim.Thowdosedinthe
Darllnx now deceased, was a
late 192f1i
descendant oftheltawkinsfarndy
The Sou of the two business
on his moihrr'i side. Though
buLklirtgswrrrbuilt and the third
not orlginally from Seward, the
was purchased, she said- The
Dariingsmoved toAlaska in 1969
historic site Is a primary feature
and houghs the buildings from
of downtown Sward.
Hugh'sbrother.
According to Darling, two at
'4iy husband's grandfather,
the threecommurialspicesare
$lawkins, was one oI the found•
avaIIANc for lease [or long-term
ing fathers of the town. IIecame
tenants. The third Is currently
up In the Csold Bush to stake
Sweet 0atlingsCandIes&itdthr
claims in Nome and that's where
second floor Includes long term
he met Tom Brown and they bullt
and nightly rentals -
a store up there but when the
'1'm just trying to get some
gold started slowing down, they
publicity for Seward and help
decided to move to%Wdex. ENnrn
the community appreciate their
was a banker from Krw S'nrk and
history a [!tile more- The Brown
Hawkins was a merchant. Most of
and tiah41ns buildkngs have been
the folks inValdez were just wait-
there since day one. We were
Log for the steamship ro came
therefor heeanhquake;ivewrre
in so they could go home but
therefore T1)`thingforthe peafde
Brown and Hawkins decided to ❑f Seward; Darling said.
gomoundthe comer I,SmwdDarling Bald both she and
Darling said.
her husband were artive in the
in a prm release to the Kamer
community, He sawed asvtce
News, D7rfing provided same
rnayor at line paint and they
addldonat information about haw served on the city counctl-