Historic preservation in Juneau

Telephone Hill in September of 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Independent)

By Page Bridges

Every town has an origin story. The story is spiritually embedded in everything that happens going forward. If a town does not safeguard its original history, it loses its uniqueness. It suffers economically. The people become depressed. Why does the city not understand that Juneau needs our early history? Why does it want to wipe out Telephone Hill?   

Juneau’s history is thrilling, and a lot comes through Telephone Hill. It is not enough to read about it — we need visible, living artifacts. We do not need a plaque with a tiny short story. And yet, I have heard more than once from our city that a plaque among new concrete condos is all we need in order to honor this 100% vital part of our origin story.

My friend Joe Karson was a Telephone Hill resident. He lived in Fairbanks during a historic preservation debacle that we do not want to repeat in Juneau. He says that Fairbanks had a slogan, “If it’s history, it’s history.” The town demolished historic buildings unnecessarily. Some were moved by a rich gold miner, but the people can't save history alone without the cooperation of government.

Why is our city so ferociously intent on destroying Juneau’s historic houses and gardens? Why do they believe that a memorial plaque makes up for the horror of concrete condos replacing such beauty? It is a crime and a sin to destroy the work of our forebearers. Vast energy, thought, skill, dedication and hardship went into building these houses. 

I looked up historic preservation online:

“Historic preservation is the practice of identifying, protecting and conserving buildings, landscapes, and artifacts of historical significance, to safeguard cultural heritage.”

“It covers buildings, districts, objects and landscapes that hold value due to age, architectural style or association with significant people or events.”

“It reuses materials and reduces energy waste from demolition and new construction. It promotes tourism, creates jobs and boosts property values.  It tells the story of a community and preserves its unique character.”

I am saving a historic house that belonged to the Tanaka family who started the City Café. They and our other Japanese residents who were interned in the camps are memorialized in the Empty Chair Memorial in Capitol Park. The Tanaka house and gardens are living history, and I could not understand why the city did not care in the slightest that the house was threatened by large-scale excavation below it between 1997 and 2004. I could not let it slide down the hill, which almost happened three times. I worked for dear life to protect it. No one knows how hard I worked. The city instituted safeguards in response to my work. And I learned enough about engineering to look for changes on the hill. I found some and saved the hill that way, also.

I am working for dear life to protect Telephone Hill now. We have a Telephone Hill Resistance group all working for dear life. The city has started to listen to us. We have great hope in the happy, reasonable solution of saving the houses while adding compatible housing as infill and undertaken by local contractors.

Historic preservation is in my blood. My grandmother saved Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Georgetown was zoned for commercial use or apartments, and she changed that.  She was called the “unofficial mayor of Georgetown.” She also helped restore the Old Stone House, the oldest residence in Washington.

I watched my grandmother work on her planning commission papers when I was a teenager. Looking back, I know that is where my passion started. Once bitten by the bug, one cannot shake it. We in our Telephone Hill Resistance group are working as hard as my grandmother did to save Georgetown to save Telephone Hill. We endure whatever hardships that brings, because a town without history is unthinkable.

We indeed do need affordable housing, but there are other much easier spots. And new condos on Telephone Hill would not be affordable. A Juneau developer friend recently attended a Historic Preservation and Affordable Housing seminar. It was held at The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. The way it works is that both historic preservation and affordable housing grants are available to help with construction costs. We need this kind of creative thinking in Juneau.

• Page Bridges is a Juneau resident.