McGrath Building/ Stroller

Additional Information

This building consists of two structures which were joined into one building after 1931. The building facing Seward Street was constructed in 1894. The second building was the former Juneau City Hotel that was burned in 1911 and rebuilt in 1914-1915. Both portions are rectangular wood frame buildings with flat roofs. The structure has a concrete foundation and is sided with vertical wood channel lap siding. The two story portion features a decorative cornice with wood braces. Other features include recessed entry ways. The building has been remodeled and the original canopy removed, however, it retains its general massing and proportions.

Built by JJ McGrath who arrived in Juneau in 1882 and constructed a number of buildings and engaged in various businesses. The Seward Street building was known as the Winsor Building, the name of a saloon that first occupied the corner space. After 1920 the replacement (1914-1915) of the Juneau Hotel housed ?Stroller?s Weekly,? a newspaper published by Stroller White, a famous Alaskan/ Yukon journalist. White worked on early newspapers in Skagway, Dawson, Bennett, Douglas, and Juneau. He was Chief of the Territory Bureau of Publicity and Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Territorial Legislature. The property has been owned since 1915 by Goldstein and Helletnthal Improvement Co., founded by Charles Goldstein and Simon Hellenthal.

commercial

Juneau Townsite Building Survey, City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, September 1988