Page 77 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska
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ANCHOR A GE 75
8 Oscar Anderson
Urban Wildlife in Anchorage
House
While Anchorage may not
be representative of the 420 M St. Map B4. Tel 2742336.
Alaskan wilderness, it is @ to Downtown Transit Center.
home to an array of wild Open Jun–Aug: noon–4pm Tue–Sun.
denizens. Along with a & 8 7
host of birds and squirrels,
moose are resident across This historic home was built
the city. All year round, in 1915 by Oscar Anderson,
lone bulls and mothers a Swede who is said to have
with calves may be seen
raiding gardens, snarling been the 18th resident of the
Urban moose climbing up the front steps of at traffic, and causing original tent city of Anchorage.
an Anchorage house serious acci dents that While still living on the beach
often do more damage to the car than to the moose. In after his arrival in town,
addition, both brown and black bears inhabit city parks and Anderson established the
have been known to harass joggers and cyclists on city trails, Ship Creek Meat Company and
while red foxes may be observed prowling the sidewalks. the Evan Jones Fuel Company.
Due to a shortage of building
materials, his house, the first
mathematics, Cook led several permanent woodframe
expeditions around the world. structure in town, had only
In 1776, on his third voyage one and a half stories and
in HMS Resolution, he sailed mea sured just 800 sq ft
north along the continent’s (72 sq m). Anderson lived
west coast in search of the here until his death in 1974,
Northwest Passage (a naviga ble and two years later, it was
link between the Atlantic and deeded to the City of
Pacific Oceans), and passed the Anchorage by his widow.
presentday site of Anchorage, The building has since
giving his name to Cook Inlet. been meticulously restored to
Derek Freeborn’s lifesized reflect the period in which it
bronze statue, based on the was built, and is listed on the
one in Whitby, UK, from where National Register of Historic
Cook first set sail, was donated Places. Various exhi bits reveal
to Anchorage during the the history of the city, and
US Bicentennial celebrations many of Anderson’s original
The Captain Cook Monument, a life-size in 1976. belongings are on display,
bronze statue in Resolution Park Just one block east, in front including a working 1909
of the CarrGottstein Building, is player piano. A Swedish
7 Resolution Park Josef Princiotta’s fabulous 1973 Christmas open house is
bronze sculpture, The Last Blue held here in traditional style
320 L St. Map B4. @ to Downtown Whale. Adding a wonderful each December. Next to the
Transit Center. Open 24 hrs daily. 7
sense of perspec tive is a small house, Elderberry Park offers
Named after Captain Cook’s beleaguered boat on the ripples great views of Knik Arm
flagship, Resolution Park offers of water near the tail of the and the chance to spot
visitors one of the best views in gigantic whale. beluga whales.
Anchorage, taking in Cook Inlet
and both Mount Susitna (a
magnificent low mountain to
the northwest, also known as
The Sleeping Lady) and spec
tacular Denali on a clear day.
The active volcanoes south
of Denali, Mount Spurr and
Redoubt, are also visible.
The centerpiece of this
small park is the Captain Cook
Monument, commemo rating
the 200th anniversary of James
Cook’s exploration of Alaska.
An 18thcentury British naval
officer and explorer with a
natural talent for physics and Oscar Anderson House, Anchorage’s oldest wood-frame building
074-075_EW_Alaska.indd 75 02/05/17 2:29 pm
