HomeMy WebLinkAbout12282020 Historic Preservation Work Session Laydown - Furlong - Historic Locations
201228 HPC WS Laydown –
Furlong – Historic Locations
Seward Historic Location Notes
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3 Ave:
219; Ogle House built by Peter Ogle in 1915, who owned Ogle Garage (known at one time as
Buick Apartments) and a taxi service.
409; Stewart House built by F.H. Stewart, treasurer of the Alaska Central RR.
413; Winter House, also was a residence of a Alaska Central RR.
417; Holland House built by MB Holland, director of Alaska Central RR commissary.
423; Cameron House built by J. B. Cameron, Alaska Central RR construction engineer. Later it
was purchase by Dr. Joseph Romig and used as a hospital in 1910.
429; Hale House, owned by Eugene Hale, cashier for Bank of Seward (his brother, F.G. Hale was
founder and president of the bank). Later John Nelson, owner of the Water Works, bought the
house.
437; Ballaine House built in 1905 by Frank Ballaine who landed with his brother John in Seward
on August 28, 1903. (John was the founder of Seward (his choice of name received after a fight
with the federal government to commemorate the purchase of Alaska, arranged by President
Lincoln’s Secretary of State, Wm. Seward), and owner of Alaska Central RR.
Rez Art; built by the Methodists in 1917 and sold to the Lutherans in 1949.
4th Ave.
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4 Ave Dock; held two large warehouses, offices, 10 switch tracks and off-loading equipment.
35’ tidal waves destroyed it. The Tustemena used what remained of the dock after the ’64
earthquake.
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Note the SE corner of 4 and Railway is a marker for Mile 0, Iditarod Trail.
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4 Ave between Adams and Washington originally had two hotels, a saloon, shoe repair,
barbershop, bowling alley, candy and cigar store, restaurant.
South of Brown and Hawkins was a grocery, built in 1907. South of that was a gambling hall built
in 1905, “Seward Club”. All three establishments were built by Charles E. Brown and T.W.
Hawkins, who were in the original landing party. You can find history of them building in 1915, in
Anchorage out of salvaged wood from the SS Bertha, beached at Ship Creek, people referring to
it as “the Anchorage”.
219; built by Harry Elsworth in 1916. Mrs. Elsworth sold women’s and children’s clothes as well
as dry goods. This became known as the Olander Building and was used as a jewelry store.
222; was built in 1929 by Paul McMullen, for a general merchandise shop, using cement blocks
manufactured in Seward by Gerhart Johnson (not regulation size). It was converted to a ladies’
dress shop in 1935.
223; constructed by “Long Shorty” Eidson and Mr. Dodson for Wagner’s Place, a saloon. J.P.
Stotka took over in 1909. In in the 1920s it became Railway Express. The Painter family lived in
the apartment in the early 1930s and ran the office. Thor Osbo bought it in the 1930s, where he
located his plumbing and appliance shop until the 1970s
225; built by Bill Sayers (three stories) in 1908. One of the first settlers, he established the
Seward Commercial Company in 1904, then moved his business here.
Seward Drug; was rebuilt after the fire of1941, by Elwyn Swetman.
Urbachs; was also rebuilt (their original was built in 1915.
DLK; was built by John Mattich.
Alaska Shop; rebuilt by Lilly James.
SE corner; built by Charles Tucklenberg in 1922 as a grocery/mercantile/bakery.
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Watsjold Building; was it on 4? Built in 1907 and operated by Frye and Bruhn as a meat market,
selling quail, moose, ducks, sheep, goats. It was operated until at least 1924. Then it was
Waechters and Woljolds Grocery and Market.
Pocket Park at First National Bank; is the Iditarod Trail Plaque here as planned? It was at
museum for safekeeping once.
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Alaska House; was this on 4? Built in 1906 by John Debreuil and used as a rooming house until
the 1950s. Then Ralph Andrews used it for his junk collection.
Other Prominent Downtown Properties:
Old Sollys; built in 1910 by Cal Brosius and John Noon as apartments. It has been a furniture
store, bar and liquor store as well as a telegraph office. It is named for Sol Urie, who ran the bar
and liquor store.
Railroad Depot; was originally located at the foot of Adams street. It was built in 1920 and
Van Gilders Hotel; built by Mr. Van Gilder in 1916 as an office building, it has been a hotel since
1921, It was known as the Renwald Hotel during the 1950s and 1960s.
Theatre; built by Don Carlos Bownell’s (the elder served as state senator) son, following the
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1941 fire that burned the original (from Valdez?) theatre at 4 and Washington (Elks Club?). It
became part of a theatre chain in 1952. Then was purchased by Fletcher and Sons who owned
theatres in Kenai, Kodiak and Palmer
Ray Building; built by Harriman Bank of New York in 1916, it was Seward High School from 1924-
1929, with 33 students. In 1933, L.V. Ray, attorney, bought it. He came to Seward in 1909 and
was president of the first territorial senate in 1913.
Odd Fellows Hall; was built in 1918. The Oddfellows disbanded in 1969.
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2 Ave:
Diversion Tunnel; finished by Corps of Engineers in 1940 is 2200’ long.
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Sexton House; (is this at foot of 2?) built before 1905, it was saved from demolition in 1978
rd
and moved to the foot of 3 Ave. temporarily. First Deputy, Marshall George Sexton used it and
then purchased it in 1909.
nd
Hatch House; was first located on Lot 31 facing 2 Ave. and was built by Peter Ogle in 1916. It
was moved in 1925 (to where?) and purchased by Sol Urie in 1930. It is presently (1978?) owned
by the Ralph Hatch family in the same block as Lot 31.
Episcopal Church; was built in 1906, the first wood church in Seward. (The others were in tents.)
The mural inside was painted in 1925 by Dutchman Jan VanEmple. (Does the Chamber of
Commerce still loan out the key for the church?)
Original Wesleyan Location; Nurses’ Residence was built here in 1952. In 1958 it was converted
to a long term care facility by the 1905 organized Women’s Division of the Methodist Church,
who also built the first hospital in this location the same year, as well as the T.B Sanitarium.
Many of the mothers of the Jesse Lee Home children were kept here when they had
tuberculosis.
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5 Ave:
Harborview Apartments; south of the old library, was built in 1904, as Jenny Paulson’s Boarding
House. Then it was Seward Steam Laundry, owned by Harry Kawabe.
Swetman House; built in 1916 on the north side of First Lake and dropped on its side during
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moving without a crack. Now located on 5 Ave. Mr. Swetman was a druggist and banker.
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The original Catholic church; was built at 322 5 in 1910 and destroyed by fire. The present site
of the Catholic church was the site of a hospital when the RR was being built.
Other Historical Locations/Items:
Leier Farm House; east of the Lagoon, was at the corner of the location of Seward Dairy,
established in 1915, by F.S. Adelman and Mr. Quilty. It was later sold to Herman (Henry?) Leier.
This property included fields where Clearview Subdivision (built by Wally Hickle and his brother
in 1954 before Wally was governor of Alaska) is now, the military rec camp, all the way to the
bay.
Jesse Lee Home Administrator’s Home; on Swetman, the only part of the orphanage left
standing, was restored about 2013 as much as possible to it’s original condition.
A hospital site; is located at a cement pad across from the current military rec camp, adjacent to
the tennis court.
Railroad Car; now out near Lowel Point, was named “Seward” and built by Pullman in 1916 as
the Dining car for the North Pacific Railroad. The Alaska RR bought it in 1935. It was given to
Seward in the 1960s and derailed in the ’64 quake. Mac and Bob Eads moved it to Jefferson and
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3, where it was Seward’s Visitor Center at one time.
Slide show; on Walking Tour #2 (on the Museum’s thumb drive) has great pictures; text by
Donna Kowalski, illustrations by Carol Griswold and Annie Martin, printed by the Chamber of
Commerce and Pioneers of Alaska Igloo and Auxilary #9.
Slide show; of early Seward is in the museum (another one?)
I hope the public will step in with more information and corrections. Please contact the
Historical Preservation Commission with those.
Ref: Old Walking Tour documents
SDF, Commissioner; 12/28/2020
Seward Historical Preservation Commission