Oldest Building in Alaska- The Baranov Museum- Kodiak, Alaska
The Baranov Museum occupies the oldest Western style building in the state of Alaska. It was originally built by the Russian America Company to house sea otter fur pelts circa 1795. It's prominent location on the channel entering Kodiak Harbor has made it a witness to the changing history of the Kodiak area for over 200 years.From the transfer of Alaska by the Russians to the United States, to the various Alaskan Gold Rushes, eruption of Katmai Volcano, WWII, the Great Alaskan Earthquake, and the King Crab fishery heyday, the Baranov Museum building has been a prominent feature of the Kodiak waterfront and is it's social center. The Baranov Museum is operated by the non-profit organization, the Kodiak Historical Society. In the last 5 years, an effort has been made to make the building manageable in terms of cyclic maintenance and energy efficiency. This work has been funded by grants and donations at the State, Federal, and Private level. As with most preservation projects, the work level often exceeds the funding level. As a craftsman in the preservation field,I know of no other project or organization more worthy of your recognition.On-going work is needed to complete the rehabilitation of the 1880's double hung windows for energy efficiency. As can be seen from the photos, Kodiak offers a variety of changing climate conditions that make for a challenging preservation environment. The mixture of the Russian log warehouse with the plain "Victorian" exterior, equally influenced by the largest recorded earthquake in North America, and coated with a large dumping of volcanic ash makes for a very interesting preservation project ! I am personally humbled to have the opportunity to offer this project for your consideration.
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