The William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center (commonly known as simply the Egan Center) is a convention center located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

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., ...

at 555 West Fifth Avenue. Constructed in 1984 as part of a massive Anchorage-wide

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

project dubbed "Project 80s", it replaced the original Z. J. Loussac Library, which opened on the same site in 1955 and was demolished in 1981. The library moved to a new building in midtown Anchorage, also as part of Project 80s. The building is named for

's first

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

William Allen Egan William Allen Egan (October 8, 1914 – May 6, 1984) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966 and 1970 to 1974, as well as a shadow U.S. Senator from Alaska Terri ...

. It features a unique glass front that runs the entire length of the facility providing the reception area and the giant

Ficus retusa ''Ficus retusa'' is a species of evergreen woody plant in the fig genus, native to the Malay Archipelago and Malesia floristic region. The species name has been widely mis-applied to ''Ficus microcarpa''. Description ''Ficus retusa'' is a rapi ...

trees inside with plenty of natural light. A

skywalk A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...

across Fifth Avenue connects the building to the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. The building was designed by CCC Architects and Planners of Anchorage.Alison K. Hoagland, ''Buildings of Alaska'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993)

External links

Egan Center Homepage

Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau

Anchorage Civic & Convention District

References

1984 establishments in Alaska Buildings and structures completed in 1984 Buildings and structures in Anchorage, Alaska Economy of Anchorage, Alaska Music venues in Alaska Tourist attractions in Anchorage, Alaska {{AnchorageAK-geo-stub