Local 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)

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.

 

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)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on July 26, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on July 26, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Leeann Thomas, the owner of the Triangle Club for the last 25 years, stands behind the bar with her employee Dita Sharpley on Tuesday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

The Triangle Club, Juneau’s historic three-generation bar, is for sale

Owner of 25 years says she’d love bar to stay local with “fresh ideas.”

Leeann Thomas, the owner of the Triangle Club for the last 25 years, stands behind the bar with her employee Dita Sharpley on Tuesday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
The Silverbow Inn on Second Street with attached restaurant “In Bocca Al Lupo” in the background. The restaurant name refers to an Italian phrase wishing good fortune and translates as “In the mouth of the wolf.” (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

Rooted in Community: From bread to bagels to Bocca, the Messerschmidt 1914 building feeds Juneau

Originally the San Francisco Bakery, now the Silverbow Inn and home to town’s most-acclaimed eatery.

The Silverbow Inn on Second Street with attached restaurant “In Bocca Al Lupo” in the background. The restaurant name refers to an Italian phrase wishing good fortune and translates as “In the mouth of the wolf.” (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on July 26, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The front page of the Juneau Empire on July 26, 1994. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)