Digital Bob Archive

10 November 1978 issue

AUGUST 14, 1894-The Douglas City sawmill, owned by the Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company and operated under lease by Robert Purvis, burned to the ground early yesterday morning. The loss is placed at $7,000 and there was no insurance. The fire was discovered at 3:15 a.m. but efforts to quell it were fruitless. Some of the lumber piled near the mill was saved but about 20,000 board feet of dressed lumber was destroyed. The company announced plans to build a replacement mill as soon as possible.

APRIL 7, 1914-The handsome new playhouse being constructed by Ashby and Endelman in the Opera House building at the corner of Second and Seward is nearly completed, with A. C. Craig holding the contract. It will be known as the Juneau Theater and will have its entrance on Seward Street near Second. The place will seat 500, including the balcony, and it is designed for both legitimate stage productions and for high class photo art.

APRIL 23, 1914-The 140-ton tube quartz mill from the Hallum property on Gold Creek is being moved to one of the Salmon Creek properties held under options by George R. Noble and his associates. The plant should be ready to operate at the new location by the end of the week, according to John Perelle who is in charge of the work. A two-compartment shaft has been sunk on the property to a depth of 150 feet and 32 men are employed.

AUGUST 28, 1914-Five concrete buildings are now under construction in downtown Juneau and are receiving a lot of attention and giving the city an air of stability. The buildings are:

The Zynda Building at Third and Main, in front of the Eagle Brewery. It is expected this will become a hotel.

The B. M. Behrends Bank Building, Third and Seward Streets.

Post Office Building, on Third Street immediately behind the bank. This is also being built by Mr. Behrends.

The Messerschmidt Building, on Second Street.

The Goldstein Building at the corner of Second and Seward Streets.

NOVEMBER 25, 1916-By unanimous vote of those present, the Juneau City Council last night voted not to consider the purchase of the Lewis water system from the Juneau Water Company at this time. Although he had no vote, Mayor B. D. Stewart expressed himself in favor of the purchase, as did former mayor John Reck and Edward Webster of the telephone company. Citizens speaking in opposition to the purchase were Allen Shattuck and Charles Goldstein.

JANUARY 11, 1917-The first cafeteria established in Juneau, the White Lunch on Front Street below the Alaskan Hotel, closed its doors yesterday. Frank Groggins, proprietor, said he has enjoyed a good business but food prices are rising fast and he felt he could not raise his prices to match them.

FEBRUARY 26, 1920-The U. S. Naval Radio Station has reopened its downtown office in the Valentine Building. The office has been closed for the past five months because of a shortage of personnel. Commercial business can now be handled in the downtown office instead of at the station near Gold Creek.

JANUARY 28, 1925-The City Council has just purchased its first combination grader and snow plough through Juneau Motors and the machine was shipped from Seattle today on the Admiral Rogers. It is known as a Wehr one-man grader, has a 10-foot blade and is driven by a Fordson tractor engine. The cost was approximately $1,600, delivered here. The machine is identical to one used by the Bureau of Public Roads in keeping Glacier Highway open during heavy snows this winter and which has also been used on occasion on city streets.

JUNE 9, 1926-The 68-foot vessel Seal, designed by L. H. Coolidge and built at Seattle for the U. S. Biological Survey at a cost of $35,000, arrived here yesterday evening in charge of Captain K. C. Talmadge. The boat was built for use in Western Alaska and has a 135-hp Standard diesel engine. The boat averaged 9.54 knots between Seattle and Juneau.

MAY 18, 1928-William Strong, trapper and trader on the Taku River and elsewhere in British Columbia, arrived at Juneau yesterday on his boat Nakina. He left here in April and has visited Atlin and Dease Lake and purchased nearly 200 beaver skins which he will sell here.

MAY 15, 1929-The City Council has adopted a resolution authorizing City Manager Thomas Judson to go ahead with paving the downtown streets under an arrangement worked out with property owners. To be paved are Front Street from Main to Seward and from the Alaskan Hotel to the City Dock; Franklin Street from Front to the Palace Theater, and Third Street from Franklin to Main. Property owners will pay the entire cost and will be reimbursed by the city at a rate of 25 per cent a year until fully paid.

AUGUST 2, 1932-A new 32-unit, $100,000 apartment building will soon rise on the corner of Fourth and Seward and will be named The Assembly. The Assembly Corporation has been formed by J. B. Warrack, Allen Shattuck and H. I. Lucas and it is said that stock will be 70 per cent locally owned. The site is partly occupied by the Juneau Tennis Courts. The reinforced concrete building will be 100 by 100 feet with three full stories and a full basement garage. Architects are F. A. Naramore and his associates, Charles Rueger and C. Brady, of Seattle, with N. Lester Troast of Juneau as an associate. Mr. Warrack, who has constructed many buildings in Alaska, will be the contractor and the building is expected to be ready for occupancy in April, 1933.