Historic Anchorage Theatre Inspires State-Level Preservation Support

Historic preservation advocates in Anchorage, Alaska, have asked the state to intervene in a local historic preservation dispute over the historic 4th Avenue Theatre. Yet, at a hearing earlier this week, the Alaska Historic Preservation Commission "stopped short of recommending that the governor and the state Department of Natural Resources declare the theater a state historic site or monument," reports Devin Kelly. Commission chair, Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott, "said the commission would return to that question, sought by preservation advocates, at a future meeting."

"The 4th Avenue Theatre is already listed on a federal registry and as a state landmark. But officials and other preservation advocates say the listing doesn't stop a private owner from tearing down all or part of it. The theater has been closed since 2006 when the owner before the Fangs, Robert Gottstein, was unable to make it financially sustaining as a theater that served food," adds Kelly.