Walking Tours

Start & Finish: 4th Avenue and F Street.

Time: 2 hours (use the shortcuts noted for a briefer tour).

Start at the Log Cabin Visitor Information Center at 4th Avenue and F Street. Outside is a sign that shows the distance to various cities and a 5,114-pound jade boulder put on display by Stewart's Photo Shop, an Anchorage institution that is just across the street.

Walk east, toward the mountains, to:

1. Old City Hall (1936)

This building is on the right of 4th Avenue as you approach E Street. The lobby contains a fun and illuminating free display on city history, including dioramas of the early streetscape, old photographs, and the fire bell and fire pole that once were used in this building.

Crossing E Street, notice on the left side of 4th Avenue that all the buildings are modern -- everything on that side from E Street east for several blocks collapsed in the 1964 earthquake. The street split in half lengthwise, with the left side ending up a dozen feet lower than the right. That land was later reinforced with a gravel buttress by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the slope below forever set aside as open space because of the earthquake risk. This stretch of 4th Avenue is where the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Race start each year in March and February, respectively.

Continue walking east. At 4th Avenue and D Street is the:

2. Wendler Building (1915)

The old Club 25 is among the oldest buildings in Anchorage. The bronze statue of the dog commemorates the sled-dog races that start here. Across D Street is a mural that depicts a map of coastal Alaska and B.C., with the Iditarod Trail faintly marked.

Cross 4th Avenue to the north side to see:

3. 4th Avenue Market Place

The brown building on the north side of 4th is a "village mall," collecting together Alaska Native artists and businesses in the heart of downtown (www.shipcreekcenter.com). One shop represents the Alaska Native Heritage Center and another, the Two Spirits Gallery, is owned by the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, which presents carvers and artists working on-site every day. Alaska Natives perform in the common area at 11am and 1:10pm daily from mid-May to mid-September. On the eastern end of the building, take in large, interesting graphics about the 1964 earthquake and other historic topics. The Rusty Harpoon is a good craft and gift shop in the yellow building next door.

Cross back to the south side of 4th and walk a block south on D Street to see:

4. The Culture of D Street

This one-block street contains two of the city's most interesting cultural outlets. First on the left, at 4th and D, is Cyrano's Off-Center Playhouse (tel. 907/274-2599; www.cyranos.org), home of its own theater company. They really are good; the tiny theater can cause quite a stir in town and has won many awards. They also have poetry readings and the like, and you can stop in the cozy little cafe for a glass of wine or beer on performance days. Tickets are sold through CenterTix (tel. 907/263-ARTS or www.centertix.net). A little farther on the left, the International Gallery of Contemporary Art (www.igcaalaska.org) is the community's nonprofit forum for art that's happening right now. Typically, the gallery is given over to a single artist or theme.

Cross 5th Avenue at the end of D Street and enter:

5. The 5th Avenue Mall

This grand, four-story shopping center is Alaska's fanciest mall, with Nordstrom and JCPenney as its anchor stores. A large, airy food court is on the top floor. Take a look, or walk straight through to the doors on the opposite side. (Just a block east, you'll find the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center and the Alaska State Troopers Museum.)

Cross the mall to the doors opposite, exiting onto 6th Avenue, turn right and walk a block and cross E Street to the:

6. Town Square

The community raised money for improvements to the square by collecting donations of $40 each for the granite bricks, with an inscription of the contributor's choosing. There are 13,344 (bet you can't find mine). On the east side of the square, behind you, the huge whale mural was painted freehand by Wyland in 1994. He painted similar whale murals in cities all along the West Coast. Changes are in the offing to redo the square, improve E Street for pedestrians, and do other work in the area, so it may be torn up when you visit. The building on the northeast corner of the square is one of the city's oldest and was saved from demolition when the park was created; it contains a charming gift and candy shop owned by the mayor's wife.

Dominating the west side of the square is the massive, highly decorated:

7. Alaska Center for the Performing Arts

The center was completed in 1988 amid controversy about its design, among other things -- it's either clever and bold or garish and busy. Take a look and decide for yourself. The lobby is usually open, and whatever your opinion of the decor, a peek inside will spark a discussion. Alaskans have grown used to it, and now we think of the building mostly as a focal point of our cultural life. Tours are held Wednesday at 1pm; a $1 donation is requested (reach the center's administrative offices at tel. 907/263-2900; www.alaskapac.org). Thespians believe the building is haunted by the ghost of painter Sydney Laurence, who makes lighting mysteriously vary and elevators go up and down with no one in them. An auditorium demolished to make room for the center was named for Laurence. Check the box office for current performances in the three theaters and rehearsal hall, Alaska's premier performance venues.

Take a Break

From the performing arts center, cross 6th Avenue at the F Street light and turn right (west) to Humpy's, a popular tavern on the south side of 6th with a huge selection of microbrews, live music, and good casual meals, including halibut tacos.

The square green office building next door to Humpy's is:

8. City Hall

Turn left through the pedestrian walkway between Humpy's and City Hall. A large mural showing a timeline of the history of Anchorage faces the parking lot. An artistically superior mural, by Duke Russell, is on the wall in Humpy's outdoor seating area on the near side of the parking lot.

Walk west through the city hall parking lot to G Street, turn right, and proceed north to 5th Avenue. G Street between 4th and 5th avenues contains some of the downtown's best:

9. Offbeat Businesses

First comes Aurora Fine Arts, an attractively cluttered arts and craft shop with plenty to see. Next up are: Darwin's Theory, a friendly, old-fashioned bar with character that shows up in an Indigo Girls song ("Cut It Out" from the album Shaming of the Sun); Suzi's Woollies (www.suziswoollies.com), a Celtic shop carrying imported sweaters, jewelry, and CDs, and with live Irish music Saturday afternoons and the first Friday of the month; Tracy Anna Bader Design Studio, a studio and shop of bright, graphic, wearable art; and Side Street Espresso, where you can get into a lively discussion on art or politics and make contact with thinking people. On the opposite side of the street, at 423 G Street, the light-filled storefront of the Alaska Glass Gallery Downtown (www.alaskaglassgallery.com) exhibits fanciful and dramatic glass sculptures by glassblower and gallery director Cynthia England and by other artists from all over the United States and Canada.

Shortcut: You can cut an hour off the tour here by continuing north on G Street to 4th, then turning right and walking 1 block to the starting point at F Street.

Backtrack to 5th and G, and then proceed west (away from the mountains) on 5th. The Imaginarium, is on the right. Continuing west on 5th Avenue and crossing H Street, you'll see the:

10. Holy Family Cathedral

This concrete Art Deco church is the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop. The interior is unremarkable.

Keep going toward the water, crossing L Street and going down the hill to:

11. Elderberry Park

The yellow-and-brown house in the park is The Oscar Anderson House Museum. Besides the good playground equipment, the park offers the easiest access point to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. The trail tunnels under the Alaska Railroad tracks from the bottom of the park.

Now hike back up the hill to L Street and turn left. At 3rd Avenue is:

12. Resolution Park

The bronze Captain Cook Monument stands on a large wooden deck, but he's gazing out to sea -- the opposite of the way he was facing when he explored Cook Inlet in 1778 aboard HMS Resolution. Cook didn't personally come as far as Anchorage, instead sending a boat with his ship's master, William Bligh (later the Captain Bligh who inspired mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty). Failing to find the Northwest Passage here, Cook considered his 2 weeks in Cook Inlet a waste of time, grousing in his journal, "Nothing but a trifling point in geography has been determined." The park's informative signs, powerful mounted binoculars, and commanding vantage point make this a rewarding stop for gazing out at the water and the mountains beyond. The waters you see are ferocious and wild, with whirlpool currents and a tidal range of almost 40 vertical feet. The shore across the inlet, about 2 miles away, is virtually uninhabited.

Follow 3rd Avenue east (back toward the mountains) 1 block and turn right on K Street. On the right is:

13. The Last Blue Whale

Joseph Princiotti's huge 1973 bronze of combat between a whale and whalers in small boats shows the whale's point of view.

Cross K Street to walk through the

14. Courthouse Plaza

The plaza frames the Nesbett State Courthouse; the sinuous shapes of the plaza's concrete walkways are supposed to suggest both the flow of people through the court system and a braided glacial river. The metal Grizzly Bear and Cub, by Homer sculptor Mike Sirl, was installed in 2004; local and state law require projects to construct public buildings to set aside 1% of their budget for art, and this work is one result.

Cross the plaza to 4th Avenue, cross I Street, and take a look at the two:

15. Totem Poles

Carved of red cedar by Lee Wallace, of Ketchikan, and erected in 1997, they represent the eagle and raven moieties of the Tlingit people, intended to symbolize the balance of justice. A Tlingit creation story tells of how raven stole the moon and stars and brought them to mankind; here, the moon and stars are the features of the Alaska flag.

Walk around past the courthouse on 4th Avenue and turn left onto H Street. Follow H as it crosses 3rd Avenue and becomes Christensen Drive. Descend the hill on Christensen and turn right on 2nd Avenue, toward the mountains. Look around at the:

16. Historic Houses

The old wooden houses along 2nd are mostly attorneys' offices now, but once this was one of the better residential areas in town. Several houses are marked and a kiosk at 2nd and F relates some town history. If you imagine houses like this over much of downtown, you'll know what Anchorage looked like before oil.

Continue east on 2nd Avenue to E Street, where you will find:

17. A Ship Creek Overlook with a Monument to President Eisenhower

The bust commemorates Alaska's 1959 admission to the Union (in fact, Eisenhower was a major barrier to statehood). More interesting is the overlook. You can see the Alaska Railroad yards from here, and part of the port of Anchorage and the neighborhood of Government Hill across the Ship Creek river bottom. This is where the tent city of Knik Anchorage, later shortened to Anchorage, was set up in 1914. An informative set of signs on the overlook explains the history. The Alaska Railroad, which helped build Anchorage, still has its headquarters in a modern brick building that stands by the creek. The nearer concrete building is the railroad's stately depot. The restored steam engine on the pedestal in front was used on construction of the Panama Canal, then worked in the yard here as a switch engine. The creek itself is full of salmon in June and August, and a walkway that crosses a dam just upstream from here is a good place to watch the fish and to feed ducks. Keep in mind that the walk down the stairs to the river bottom and back is strenuous.

Walk up the hill on E Street to 3rd Avenue. The extensively landscaped parking lot on the left becomes the:

18. Anchorage Market & Festival

This street fair, held every weekend from mid-May to mid-September, draws hundreds of vendors and thousands of shoppers. You can buy everything from local vegetables to handmade crafts to tourist junk. There are food booths and music, too.

Turn right on 3rd Avenue, and then left on F Street. F Street Station, on the left, is a fun bar with an after-work crowd. Proceed to 4th Avenue, and you're back at the Log Cabin Visitor Information Center, but don't stop. Turn right on 4th Avenue. On the right side is the:

19. Old Federal Building

This grand, white, Depression-era structure now contains the Alaska Public Lands Information Center, with interesting displays and lots of information about the outdoors. Don't let the security checkpoint deter you -- go in and look around.

Across the street is Anchorage's most attractive historic building, the:

20. 4th Avenue Theater (1947)

The theater was built by Cap Lathrop, Alaska's first business magnate, who created it as a monument to the territory and the permanence of its new society. An old-fashioned movie palace, it features bas-relief murals and a blinking Big Dipper on the ceiling. It flourished for decades, but began losing money when one-screen, downtown movie theaters became obsolete in the 1980s. It was saved from destruction in 1991 and made a tourist attraction by a local businessman with a sentimental attachment to the building. However, the theater again closed its doors in 2006 and faced doom. A lively political battle ensued over a city bail-out. As of this writing, it seems unlikely the theater will be torn down, but it is unclear whether it will be open for viewing.