A color version of this map is found on the Anchorage municipality
website. There are other Anchorage maps at that site too, showing the
neighborhoods and details.
Chugiak and Eagle River are the main suburban neighborhoods to the north.
Rainbow, Indian,and Bird Creek are very small settlements of homes clinging
to the mountain slopes, while Girdwood is a skier's mecca, with famed Mt Alyeska
Resort hosting many a ski and snowboard event throughout the winter.
The main part of Anchorage is a "basin" on a flat ground, gradually rising to
the mountains in the east and constrained by Cook Inlet and the Knik and
Turnagain Arms to the west. The last we heard, it held about half of Alaska's
population - a bit over 250,000 people in this general and geographically
defined area.
Though the terrain remains the same, the highway system is much changed since 1964 when we first arrived in Alaska. Then the Glenn Highway into town was 2 lane (and paved), with no real shoulders. The main connection to the Kenai Peninsula towns was the (now) Old Seward Highway, also two lanes. Anchorage stopped at Northern Lights Boulevard and looking to the south all I remember seeing was black spruce, swampland, and miles of it. Now it is quite built up.
Spenard was it's own little area - the airport was far out of town beyond that. The major downtown hotel was the Anchorage Westward, now the Hilton, and Wally Hickel had just built the Captain Cook Hotel, a 6 story "first-cabin" place down on 5th and L St. The Spenard area now has been gentrified to become major hotel support for the airport.
AMU was the 4 year College in town. Since then, the
University of Alaska, Anchorage, has grown up from a smalll community college
also to serve the area's students. AMU changed its name to Alaska Pacific
University. Now in the vicinity, Providence Hospital was then downtown, as was
the ANHS. Anchorage Community Hospital, now Alaska Regional Hospital,
expanded greatly when it moved out to the East side.
There were only 2 High schools, West and East.
We called this little ranch-style house home, back in 1964. It is still here,
under different ownership, though a four-lane one-way street into town has
been carved through the neighborhood 3 houses to the west. Our Kids walked to
school from this home. No kindergarten. There was no bus system then, either.
My how things have changed since the earthquake that year...
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© 2000, deebrrs