Buildings of Alaska

Abstract

Buildings of Alaska traces Alaska's architecture from the earliest dwellings made of sod, whalebone, and driftwood to the glass and metal skyscrapers of modern-day Anchorage. Focusing on the various cultural traditions that have helped shape the state's architecture, the volume also explores how Alaska's buildings reflect Alaskan's attempt to adapt to the unique conditions of their environment. Here, Alison K. Hoagland examimes the contribution to the state's architectural history of three major cultural groups: native Alaskans, Russian settlers, and Americans for the lower 48. Divided into six regions--South Central, Southeastern, Interior, Northern, Western, and Southwestern--entries cover such structures as aboriginal houses, Russian Orthodix chruches, log roadhouses, false-front commercial buildings constructed during the gold-rush, concrete Moderne public buildings of the 1930s, and high-rise office buildings erected during the oil boom of the 1970s and 1980s. With over 250 photgraphs, drawings, and maps, Buildings of Alaska is an unprecedented look at how Alaska's buildings reveal the personal attitudes and cultural precepts of its diverse group of inhabitants.