The Black Rapids
Roadhouse, also known as the Rapids Roadhouse and the Rapids Hunting Lodge, is a historic Alaskan structure along the
Richardson Highway
The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. I ...
in east-central
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
. It was built in 1902.
[Michael Parrish]
"Finding Gold Rush tales and roadhouse comforts on the Richardson Highway"
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
. Construction of the
Alaska Railroad led to a decline in the 1920s, but the original roadhouse continued to operate until 1993. A new, modern
lodge
Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one.
Lodge or The Lodge may refer to:
Buildings and structures Specific
* The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...
was built near the roadhouse in 2001 and the original building is preserved as a historical curiosity and tourist attraction.
The original roadhouse was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2001.
[
]
Black Rapids Glacier
Black Rapids Roadhouse is across the Delta River
The Delta River is an tributary of the Tanana River in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its name in the Ahtna language is ''Saas Na’ ''. Fed by the Tangle Lakes of the Alaska Range, the river flows north to meet the larger river near Big Delta ...
from the Black Rapids Glacier. For three months in 1937 the Black Rapids Glacier made national news by advancing across the valley at the rate of a mile a month-it was known as the "galloping glacier." The long glacier has since retreated, but the moraine can still be seen from Richardson Highway pullout.
History
The Rapids Roadhouse, variously known as Black Rapids Roadhouse or Rapids Hunting Lodge, opened at least by 1904 to serve travelers on the new Valdez-Fairbanks Trail. Of more than thirty roadhouses that operated along the route between 1902 and 1923, Rapids Roadhouse is one of the few that survive.
Rapids Roadhouse continued to operate until 1993, although its peak years had been during the first decades of the 20th century. Because of this, period of significance ended in 1923.
See also
*
References
External links
Lodge at Black Rapids
{{National Register of Historic Places
1902 establishments in Alaska
1904 establishments in Alaska
1993 disestablishments in Alaska
Commercial buildings completed in 1902
Restaurants established in 1904
Restaurants disestablished in 1993
Buildings and structures in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska
Restaurants in Alaska
Defunct restaurants in the United States
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska
Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places