Wollenberg/ Messerschmidt/ Vander Leest House

Additional Information

The building is a one-and-one-half story wood frame structure with a steep pitched cross gabled roof. It has a concrete foundation with wood shingle skirting and a full basement. It is sided with wood shingles. There is a shed dormer on main gable roof. Other features include a small centrally located hip roofed enclosed entry porch. The structure contains modest Craftsman style design references such as the gable front and hip roofed porch. There is also a Prairie School style reference seen in the massive masonry chimney with its narrow side toward the street.

The house was constructed in late 1913 or early 1914 for Harry L. Wollenberg, chief engineer for the Alaska Gastineau Mining Company. Wollenberg Built Juneau?s first year-round hydroelectric power plant including one of the world?s largest variable arch concrete dams. He also tapped Annex Lake, an engineering feat unique for the time. Later, the house was owned by Herman Vander Leest who served on the Territorial Board of Pharmacy for 15 years, ten years on the board of the Sitka Pioneers Home and as a delegate to Alaska?s constitutional convention in 1955-56.

residential

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