Why Telephone Hill matters

(City and Borough of Juneau photo)

By John Ingalls

Telephone Hill is a uniquely preserved historic neighborhood in the heart of downtown Juneau. From any vantage point in town you can see it nestled between large office buildings — a lush green space interspersed with some of Juneau's earliest homes. The homes are all connected by a boardwalk as was common in the early mining era when the homes were built.

In the 1990s, I undertook a project to restore these boardwalks to their original grandeur and in the process had the idea of illustrating Telephone Hill's history along the wooden rail. While researching this project, I came to see our neighborhood as an incredible through line connecting Juneau's past and present. The hill played host to so much of the town's history and remains a beloved present-day home to community devoted residents and families, including my own.

In July of 1976, I moved to Juneau from the East Coast. A friend had offered me a room on Telephone Hill in a house managed by Peter Metcalfe. Peter was busy renovating the Occidental Bar, which was to become the original Crystal Saloon. He was the first person of many here in Juneau to become my lifelong friend.

Together, Peter and I rebuilt the bar, which opened in October 1976 for a legendary run when Juneau was bursting at the seams. Our shared house on Telephone Hill became a focal point for contributors to Juneau's social fabric. Peter and I began producing concerts featuring the likes of Taj Mahal, Merle Travis, Mose Allison, Queen Ida, The Persuasions, and Bonnie Raitt, many of whom enjoyed lodging atop Telephone Hill. 

In the early 1980s the state of Alaska acquired Telephone Hill and hired Joel Orelove to manage the properties.  Joel aspired to make Telephone Hill the most vibrant neighborhood in Juneau. His management greatly boosted the community dynamic.

Rachel Beck and I started our family about that time, providing a motive for me to employ my machining and welding skills to create a versatile, lightweight child carrier, the Stroller Pack. We started out making the strollers at my shop on Telephone Hill before moving most of the production downtown, where, along with my business partner Sam Skaggs, we manufactured over a thousand strollers.

Jeff Brown moved into the house built in 1882, one of Juneau's first homes and the historic location of Edward Webster's telephone exchange that gave the hill its name. Jeff became a much-loved radio host with KTOO and widely recognized "minister of merriment" whose balloon sculpting delighted parents and children throughout Juneau. Directly across the street from Jeff was the home of Edward Webster's granddaughter, Verna Carrigan, a community philanthropist, active gardener, and wonderful neighbor.

Our children had me set up a basketball hoop on our garage. The late economist Eric McDowell, a Gold Medal Basketball Tournament legend, had an office on Telephone Hill next to the Augustus G. Brown House (an early Juneauite who funded the first indoor swimming pool). At the end of the day, my kids would not allow Eric to drive past until he shot a basket while sitting in his car's driver seat. The house was later rented to a couple who were master gardeners. Together they lovingly resurrected one of Juneau's most beautiful gardens, which time had forgotten.  

These are the people I have been lucky to call my neighbors. We have rented these homes for decades and stayed because it is a place we truly love — a setting that has fostered a great sense of community and shared purpose.

Imagine that Telephone Hill was your neighborhood — threatened with removal and with it all the memories, friendships, and social networks that make where you live so close to your heart. Neighborhoods like Telephone Hill should be nurtured, not destroyed, yet the City of Juneau is intent on selling out to the highest bidder. The promises to create "affordable housing" on the site seem empty to me considering the likely consequences of the bidding process. I am sympathetic to the need for more housing in downtown Juneau, but perhaps there is a solution that adds housing to our hill without destroying the neighborhood as a whole. It is not too late to alter course.

• John Ingalls is a longtime resident of Telephone Hill.