Page 176 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

174  ALASK A AREA B Y AREA

t Fairbanks

Known as Alaska’s Golden Heart, Fairbanks sprawls across
the broad Tanana Valley. Italian immigrant Felix Pedro,
who discovered gold near Chatanika, met miner E T
Barnette, who was forced ashore here when his boat ran
aground, and together, they founded Fairbanks in 1901.
The two men convinced Dawson prospectors to come to
Fairbanks, swelling its population to 18,000. Most boomers
left when the seam played out in the 1920s, but the
town’s economy was bolstered by World War II and the
construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in the mid-1970s.
Today, Alaska’s second largest city enjoys a sense of
stability that has outlasted both its rapid urbanization Sandhill crane at Creamer’s Field Migratory
and its economic fluctuations. Waterfowl Refuge
Alaska Conservation Society
expanded the acreage to turn
it into Creamer’s Field Migratory
Waterfowl Refuge. Today, the site

Creamer’s
Dairy Alaska Bird
University of Alaska Fairbanks Creamer’s Field Observatory
Museum of the North Migratory
1 mile (1.6 km) Waterfowl
Refuge
N o y e s S l o u g h MARGARET AVE
TAMARACK ST
RD
C O L L E G E R O A D
WEDGEWOOD
ESQUIRE AVE
CARR AVE KATHRYN AVE
CENTRAL AVE
SOUTHERN AVE AURORA DRIVE DOGWOOD ST EVERGREEN ST DANBY S T R E E T HAMPSTEAD AVE O‘CONNER RD
Walden
ASPEN STREET MARIKA RD MARIKA RD B A I N BRIDGE BLVD
Pond
BURGESS
AVE
The broad Chena River curving through the city of Fairbanks WEMBLY AVE J O H A N S E N E X P R E S S W A Y
Alaska Railroad
Station
E Morris Thompson Cultural carved ice sculptures HANSON ROAD T H E A L A S K A R A I L R O A D C H AR L ES S T MIN N I E S T I L L I N O I S S T R E E T NOYES ST
INA S T
C O L L E G E R O A D
& Visitor Center at a chilly -7° C (20° F). MI NN IE ST CH AR L E S S T
WELL ST REE T
101 Dunkel St. Tel 459-3700. @ Blue The World Ice Art WELL ST
and Red Lines. Open mid-May–mid- Championships in early FOX AVENUE Morris Thompson
Cultural & Visitor
Sep: 8am–9pm daily; mid-Sep–mid- March draws top ice LIVENGOOD AVE C h e n a R i v e r 1ST AVE P I O N E E R R D Center
May: 8am–5pm daily. 7 sculptors from around the P E G E R R O A D PHILLIPS FIELD ROAD 3RD AVE 2ND AVE Griffin FRONT ST
∑ morristhompsoncenter.org world, who turn massive BONNIFIELD ST Park
On the Chena River in the heart 7,800-lb (3,500-kg) blocks 6TH AVE Fairbanks Ice Museum 3RD AVE DUNKEL ST HALL ST
of Fairbanks, this lovely modern of ice into works of art. 2ND AVE 5TH AVE
building has state-of-the-art Children can enjoy the Growden W IE N AVE LATHR O P S T 9TH AVE COWLES STREET 4T H AV E C US H M A N S TR E E T 7TH AVE
6TH AVE
exhibits portraying traditional ice slides and mazes. Memorial GILMO R E S T K E L L U M S T R E E T BAR N E T TE S T W LACEY ST S T E E S E E X P R E S S WAY
8TH AVE
Park
cultures and the natural world. Pioneer CR OSSON AVE Weeks Field 10TH AVE
Park
Park
Watch artisans at work, or enjoy O Creamer’s Field H ILT ON AV E Library 11TH AVE 12TH AVE NOBLE ST
a film on Alaskan life. A block Migratory Waterfowl C ON R A D ST A I R P O R T W A Y G A F F N E Y R O A D
away, Golden Heart Plaza’s Refuge Riverboat Discovery KENNICOTT AVE
1 mile (1.6 km)
fountain features Malcolm 1300 College Rd. Tel 452-5162. EAGAN AVE
Alexander’s sculpture, The @ Red Line. Open 24 hrs. Visitors’
Unknown First Family, depicting center: Open Jun–mid-Sep: 10am–
an Inuit family and dedicated 5pm daily; winter: noon–4pm Sat. offers good opportunities to view
to the spirit of all Alaskans. 8 Jun–Aug: 10am Mon–Thu, 7pm harriers, falcons, and swans. Sand-
Wed. 7 = Bird banding: May: hill cranes can be seen perform-
E Fairbanks Ice Museum 6:30am–noon daily; Jun–mid-Jul ing their unique dance, consis-
500 2nd Ave. Tel 451-8222. @ & mid-Aug–Sep: 6am–noon daily. ting of a series of bowing and
∑ creamersfield.org
Open May–Sep: 9am–8pm daily. & hopping movements, through
8 ∑ icemuseum.com The refuge was originally a dairy much of the summer. Visitors
Housed in the historic Lacey farm but was sold to the state can watch birds being banded
Street Theater, the Fairbanks Ice in 1975, and as it had always at the Alaska Bird Observatory
Museum displays beautifully attracted migratory birds, the near the edge of the refuge.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p244 and pp254–5
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