Sitka Pioneer Home

Coordinates: 57°2′59.96″N 135°20′15.51″W / 57.0499889°N 135.3376417°W / 57.0499889; -135.3376417


Sitka Pioneers' Home
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Sitka Pioneer Home

Location	120 Katlian Street, Sitka, Alaska 99835
Coordinates	57°3′4″N 135°20′16″W / 57.05111°N 135.33778°W / 57.05111; -135.33778
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1935
NRHP Reference #	79000413^[1]
Added to NRHP	October 18, 1979

The Sitka Pioneer Home is an assisted living home, located in the U.S. state of Alaska at 120 Katlian Street in downtown Sitka. Operated by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services under its Division of Pioneer Homes, it is the oldest and third-largest of the six homes in the Pioneer Home system. The building was designed by the Tacoma firm of Heath, Gove & Bell and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The Sitka Pioneer Home was opened in a derelict U.S. Marine Corps barracks in 1913 on a $10,000 budget. The home struggled financially until the 1930s, when the federal and territorial governments appropriated around $400,000 to replace the dilapidated and fire-prone buildings, creating a new home capable of caring for 170 men. In 1949, upon mandate from the territorial legislature, an expansion was constructed, with women permitted to be taken under care.

The Pioneer Home has also played a large part in Sitka's Alaska Day festivities. The parade through downtown ends close to the grounds and hundreds of people mingle at a free reception inside the home with live entertainment traditionally provided by the New Archangel Dancers. The annual Alaska Day croquet tournament takes place on the grounds at the same time.

Currently, the Sitka Pioneer Home is the third largest Alaska Pioneer Home and can care for 65 residents including those suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. The home uses a three-tiered system of care: tier I or "Independent", tier II or "Basic Assistance", and tier III or "24-Hour Care".

Prospector statue

Closeup view of the building's front as it appeared during the 1970s.

A statue entitled The Prospector, sculpted by Alonzo Victor Lewis, serves as the centerpiece of the grounds of the Sitka Pioneer Home. The sculpture was supposed to be modeled after real-life pioneer William Clark "Skagway Bill" Fonda, a resident of Skagway and originally of Fonda, New York. This statue is the larger of two models that Lewis created. The smaller of which sits in Seattle's Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park in Pioneer Square. After more than three tons of clay and 21 years of fundraising, the sculpture was finally shipped to Sitka in time for its dedication at 1949's Alaska Day.

References

↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

External links

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types

Lists by states	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands

Lists by associated states	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau

Other areas	District of Columbia Morocco

Portal WikiProject

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.