Local history

Looking through the dining room and reception area to the front door. The table will be covered with holiday treats during the afternoon open house. The Stickley slide table, when several extensions are added, provides comfortable seating for 22 dinner guests. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

The Governor’s House: Welcoming Alaskans for more than 100 years

Mansion has seen many updates to please occupants, but piano bought with first funds still playable.

 

The front page of the Juneau Empire on Nov. 2, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Nov. 2, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Oct. 20, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Oct. 20, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Oct. 13, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Oct. 13, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
People dance to music by The Muskeg Collective during KTOO’s 50-Fest on Saturday night at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

KTOO packs a half century of programming into a six-hour 50-Fest anniversary celebration

Ten mini-concerts, plus interviews, theater and tributes showcase public broadcasting outlet’s history.

People dance to music by The Muskeg Collective during KTOO’s 50-Fest on Saturday night at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

Signaling Alaska: By land, by sea and by air

KTOO’s 50th anniversary celebration has much longer historical ties to Klondike, military.

The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Oct. 8, 2004. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Oct. 8, 2004. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Oct. 3, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Oct. 3, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 26, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 26, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 21, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 21, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Rush-hour traffic heads toward downtown on Egan Drive on Friday morning. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

How Outer Drive became inner drive: The construction of Egan Drive

In 1970 there was no dispute about need for four-lane highway — conflict was about route across wetlands.

Rush-hour traffic heads toward downtown on Egan Drive on Friday morning. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 14, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 14, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 6, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Sept. 6, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A gathering of friends rent Skater’s Cabin on Mendenhall Lake from the U.S. Forest Service on a sunny day in July of 2024. The cabin and the West Glacier Trail beyond it were Civilian Conservation Corps projects. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

Rock Solid: The 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps built many of Juneau’s recreational, cultural landmarks

Forest Service shelters, trails, totem poles, early ski area among Depression-era program’s fixtures.

A gathering of friends rent Skater’s Cabin on Mendenhall Lake from the U.S. Forest Service on a sunny day in July of 2024. The cabin and the West Glacier Trail beyond it were Civilian Conservation Corps projects. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Aug. 29, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Aug. 29, 1984. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Aug. 24, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Aug. 24, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Aug. 16, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Aug. 16, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Aug. 9, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on Aug. 9, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)