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The Alaska State House is the State Capitol of Alaska . Located in the State Capital of Juneau on Main Street, it houses the Alaska Legislature and the offices for the Governor Of Alaska and Lieutenant Governor Of Alaska . HISTORY In 1792, the first capital of Russian America was established at Kodiak . In 1808, the capital was moved to Sitka , or New Archangel. With the United States Alaska Purchase of 1867, Sitka became the headquarters of the Military Department Of Alaska under U.S. Army Major General Jefferson C. Davis . In 1877, the army was redeployed from Alaska to the Nez Perce War , and no administration was present until 1879, when the U.S. Navy established a presence at Sitka under Commander Lester A. Beardslee . By the Organic Act of 1884, the U.S. Congress established the District Of Alaska , with "temporary seat of government" at Sitka, and a presidentially appointed administration, initially headed by Governor John Henry Kinkead . In 1900, Congress passed a Civil Code transferring the seat from Sitka to Juneau, which had surpassed Sitka in economic growth and importance. {Link without Title} Building the capitol The United States Congress authorized funds to construct a capitol building for what was then the Alaska Territory in 1911. Construction was delayed by World War I and difficulty purchasing the necessary land. Local citizens donated some of the required funds, and construction began on September 18, 1929. The building, originally called the Federal and Territorial Building, was dedicated on February 14, 1931. It was designed by Treasury Department architects in the Art Deco Architectural Style . The building was initially used by the Federal Government and housed a Federal Courthouse and a Post Office . Since Alaska gained Statehood in 1959 with the Alaska Statehood Act the building has been used by the state government. Relocation controversy In 1960, '' Anchorage Daily Times '' publisher Robert Atwood began an editorial push to relocate the capital somewhere nearer to commerce and the Alaskan mainstream. This effort culminated in Ballot Initiative s to move the capital to the " Cook Inlet -Railbelt area" (1960) and to "Western Alaska ... not within thirty miles of Anchorage " (1962). Both measures were defeated at the polls, but a third initive in 1974 passed, followed by a 1976 ballot which selected Willow as the site of the new capital. In 1978 and 1982, however, measures to fund the relocation of the capital were defeated. Outgoing governor Jay Hammond , describing his administration's handling of the capital relocation question, said that in the end he was able to "lance this boil". |
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