Telephone Hill Historic Neighborhood Advocacy
POA members have conducted a series of tours of the historic homes on Telephone Hill for elected Juneau officials and the State Historic Preservation Office staff.
These homes were the first built in the Juneau area, long before the city was laid out, and include the oldest continually occupied home in Alaska.
Young, C.W.
During the early 1900s,.C.W. Young, a Juneau contractor and hardware store owner, owned Block 6; Lots 6-7, the Elton and Allan Engstrom Building was built on at 111-113 West Third Street on Telephone Hill.
Frank Bach
Frank Xavier Bach was November 3, 1850 in Germany, his parents were Peter Bach of Germany and Julia Miller Bachof Barvaria/Germany. He was 5'8", 150 pounds.
He lived in Douglas with his sister, Anna Kunigunde Bach-Zengel-Graf the last few days of her life. His brother, George Bach, lives in Taku Harbor.
He married Ellen Calhoun-Bach, they had six children, four of whom survived to adulthood - Alice Bach-Coughlin and and Lenore Bach-Edwins, and a son, Cecil Bach.
He joined Edward Webster in forming the Juneau Douglas Telephone Company.
District Recorder records and the 1894 plat map of Juneau Townsite show Edward Webster and his business partner, Frank Bach, owning Lots 7 and 8 in Block 1, where the Edward Webster House and the Juneau-Douglas Telephone Company Offices stand at 135-139 West Second Street in the Telelphone Hill Historic District.
He later sold out his interest to his partner.
He served as Mayor of Douglas in 1903.
He died instantly on June 3, 1933 at age 72. Charles W. Carter was his undertaker. He was buried in the Douglas City Cemetery.
Juneau & Douglas Telephone Company Building
The Juneau & Douglas Telephone Company, 204 Main Street, sits on a sloped grade on Telephone Hill's east side below the hilltop where the Edward Webster House stands on 204 Main Street Block 6; Lots 3-4.
From 1915 until 1956 the company was located in a Webster House extension (Hurley, Carrigan 1983). By 1956, the increased telephone demand prompted the company's search for another site and construction of a larger building. Lots 3 and 4 were purchased that year from B.M. Behrends, a store owner and banker who had maintained ownership since 1901.
Two vintage residential structures were removed from the site to permit construction of the new telephone building. The telephone company's new structure housed the first automatic dialing system in Juneau. Today it serves as a switching station.
The Webster family sold the Juneau & Douglas Telephone Company to Continental Telephone Company in 1968.
The rectangular, one-story, Industrial Box building, was constructed in 1956. Its 40' x l00' area encompasses 4,000 square feet. The structure is made of steel and concrete with a steel entry door and stepped, flat canopy on the east facade.
The main floor's small switching room previously served as a public service counter. The room had four windows facing Main Street, but they have since been covered over. A larger room on the main floor contains the main frame of the switching station. The basement contains a storage area for an emergency generator, furnace, transformer and garage.
Lewis, Grace
Richard F. Lewis and Grace Lewis owned Block F; Lots 7-8, where the Juneau Motor Company building sits at 11 Egan Drive, on the corner of Egan Drive and Main Street at the base of Telephone Hill, from the turn of the century until the early 1950s (City of Juneau 1901-1951).
R.F. Lewis came to Juneau in 1894, practiced law until 1952, and owned the Juneau Water Works (Lewis 1938-44). He was among a group of Alaskans who lobbied successfully in Washington, D.C. to have the state capital moved from Sitka to Juneau.
Lewis, Richard
Richard F. Lewis and Grace Lewis owned Block F; Lots 7-8, where the Juneau Motor Company building sits at 11 Egan Drive, on the corner of Egan Drive and Main Street at the base of Telephone Hill, from the turn of the century until the early 1950s (City of Juneau 1901-1951).
R.F. Lewis came to Juneau in 1894, practiced law until 1952, and owned the Juneau Water Works (Lewis 1938-44). He was among a group of Alaskans who lobbied successfully in Washington, D.C. to have the state capital moved from Sitka to Juneau.
Ninnis, Elroy
Elroy Ninnis became president of the Ford dealership in 1936 after working for the company since 1924 (Ninnis 1983; Juneau Empire 1954). He worked in the Juneau Motor Company building at 11 Egan Drive, which is situated on the corner of Egan Drive and Main Street at the base of Telephone Hill on Block F; Lots 7-8.
Juneau Motor Company
The Juneau Motor Company, 11 Egan Drive, is situated on the corner of Egan Drive and Main Street at the base of Telephone Hill on Block F; Lots 7-8.
The company moved to this site in 1935 from the former dock site of Alaska Coastal Airlines located across the street. Elroy Ninnis became president of the Ford dealership that year after working for the company since 1924 (Ninnis 1983; Juneau Empire 1954).
Lots 7 and 8, shoreline property prior to fill operations in the 1920s and 1930s, were the early sites of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company and Wells Fargo Express offices.
Richard F. Lewis and Grace Lewis owned the lots from the turn of the century until the early 1950s (City of Juneau 1901-1951).
R.F. Lewis came to Juneau in 1894, practiced law until 1952, and owned the Juneau Water Works (Lewis 1938-44). He was among a group of Alaskans who lobbied successfully in Washington, D.C. to have the state capital moved from Sitka to Juneau.
T
he original Juneau Motor building on Lots 7 and 8 was destroyed by fire in 1964. The present buildings were constructed in 1965 (Ninnis 1983). Capital Motors Supply, 47 Willoughby, was established in 1958 and is owned by Juneau Motor. Joseph Ninnis, son of Elroy, became president of the company in 1963.
The Juneau Motor Company and Capital Motors Supply consist of rectangular, one-story structures and two storage sheds. The dealership's main building has a sales showroom, parts department and a service department. The low-pitched gable roof is situated over concrete-block walls covered with vertical aluminum paneling and aggregate siding. The building includes large showroom windows.
The Capital Motors Supply building, measuring 50 1 x90 1 with a floor area of 4,192 square feet, consists of a 20 1 x20 1 retail department, a 711 x50 1 warehouse and an ll 1 x23' wood shed addition housing an office. The building has a flat roof with an aluminum-siding -cornice, steel and concrete framing, and painted concrete-block siding.
The rear of the building is covered with painted, corrugated metal, and the wood shed addition has vertical wood siding. The building's floor and foundation are poured concrete. The floors and foundation are concrete. Both one-story storage sheds have corrugated-metal siding.
Feldon, Sam
Sam Feldon used to own the Anita Kodzoff House, which sits at 107 West First Street on the southeast face of Telephone Hill until 1945.
Johnson, Richard
Richard Johnson owned Lot 6 from 1901 to 1914, where the Anita Kodzoff House, sits at 107 West First Street on the southeast face of Telephone Hill. The property underwent improvements during his ownership