Juneau City Information
Overview
Juneau is
the capital of Alaska and an exceptionally
beautiful city located in the Tongass
Rainforest. The snow-capped peaks of Mt. Juneau and Mt. Roberts
frame the city center, which has many
narrow streets running past a mixture of new
structures, old storefronts and slanted
houses. The bustling waterfront features
cruise ships, tankers, fishing boats, a few
kayakers and floatplanes buzzing in and out.
Juneau is the ideal departure point for
visits to Glacier Bay National Park or
Admiralty Island.
Attractions in
Juneau
Downtown
Juneau provides a wonderful variety in
sightseeing opportunities. Marine Park is a
pretty waterfront park across from the
Sealaska Building has an information kiosk
and provides a walking-tour map. South
Franklin Street is a historical district
with many of the buildings dating back to
the early 1900s and today house gift shops,
restaurants and pubs.
The State
Capitol, built in 1929-31 as the territorial
Federal Building, houses the legislative chamber
and the governor's office. Free 30-minute
tours of the building are offered every half
hour daily during summer.
St. Nicholas
Russian Orthodox Church was built in 1894 and
has the distinction of being the oldest church
built in the Inside Passage. The octagon-shaped
building has exhibits of Russian icons, original
vestments and religious relics.
The
Juneau-Douglas City Museum provides the best
exhibits and interpretive displays covering the
gold mining history of Juneau and Douglas.
Douglas lies within the Borough of Juneau and is
located across Gastineau Channel on Douglas
Island. The Juneau-Douglas Bridge connects the
two.
The Governor's
Manson, built and furnished in 1912 at a cost of
$44,000, has a New England appearance but is
accented by a totem pole, carved in 1940 by
Tlingit Indians and presented to the governor as
a gift.
The Alaska
State Museum offers a showcase of the past,
including artifacts from Athabascan, Aleut,
Inuit and Tlingit. There are also displays
relating to the Russian period, major gold
strikes in the state and the trans-Alaska
pipeline.
Mt. Roberts
Tram provides a panoramic view of Juneau and
visiting cruise ships.
Gold fever
and gold mines built Juneau and a trip to the
capital city would not be complete without
visiting at least one of the 32 gold mines in
the area. The Last Chance Mining Museum, housed
in the remains of the compressor house for the
Alaska-Juneau Mine, hosts an impressive complex
of railroad lines, ore cars and repair sheds.
Attractions
around Juneau
One of the
most famous features near Juneau is Mendenhall
Glacier, part of the mighty Juneau Icefield. It
is located 13 miles from downtown Juneau at the
end of Glacier Spur Road. Flightseeing is a
splendid way to see glaciers from above and some
helicopter tours offer glacier landings, glacier
treks and dog sled rides on glaciers.
Juneau is
also the gateway to Glacier Bay National Park
and to Tracy Arm Fjord, which provide magnificent
glacier and wildlife viewing opportunities
Admiralty
Island National Monument (also called "fortress
of the bears") features one of the largest
concentrations of brown bears in the world.
Guided bear viewing tours are available.
Juneau is
located in Tongass National Forest and offers a
wide variety of hiking possibilities. Sea
kayaking is another attractive option and both
guided tours or self-guided tours with rental
equipment is possible.
Eaglecrest Ski
Resort, located on Douglas Island, offers snow
at high elevations for excellent downhill and
cross-country skiing.
History
Juneau
is named after gold mining prospector Joe
Juneau. In 1880, Joe Juneau, a mining engineer
in Sitka, and Richard Harris prospected along
the Gastineau Channel, guided by local Tlingits.
Although they had “good color” in their samples
when they returned to Sitka, they could not
locate the source of the load. Their employer,
dissatisfied that the lode had not been
completely traced, insisted that Juneau and
Harris continue explorations. When they
returned to the channel they employed the help
of Chief Kowee, leader of the Auk Tlingits.
Promised 100 Hudson Bay blankets and a dollar
per day wages for finding gold, Kowee enlisted
his tribe to help Juneau and Harris find the
mother lode. Almost immediately after Koweee
led the men to the find, a 160-acre townsite was
planned and the rush was on. By 1906 the
thriving mining town had become the hub of
activity in Alaska and the state capital was
transferred from Sitka. The Alaska-Juneau,
Alaska-Gastineau, and Treadwell Mines, only
three of eight mines that operated, produced $58
million of gold at $20 to $35 per ounce. Along
Juneau’s shoreline one can still see a few
ghostly remains of dilapidated wharf pilings and
rusted mine frames that speak of Juneau’s golden
roots.
Today, the
capital city and neighboring areas are home to
over 30,000 people. Government jobs employ 40%
of the population, while tourism, fishing, and
service positions round out the economy.
Because the city is only accessible by air or
sea, and is less populated than Anchorage
or Fairbanks, Juneau’s status as a capital is
often challenged.
Other
information
Population: 31,000
Location: Located on the mainland of Southeast
Alaska, opposite Douglas Island, Juneau was
built at the heart of the Inside Passage along
the Gastineau Channel. It lies 900 air miles
northwest of Seattle and 577 air miles southeast
of Anchorage.
Access: No road access. Daily jet service from Seattle and
Anchorage; scheduled air taxi service from
all Inside Passage communities. Year round
Alaska state ferry service from Bellingham, WA,
and Prince Rupert, B.C., Canada, connecting to
all Inside Passage communities and Southcentral
Alaska. All classes of cruise vessels. Water
taxi or fast ferry service between Juneau,
Sitka, Skagway and Gustavus.
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