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The McKinley Tower Apartments, previously known as the East 4th & Denali Apartments, the Mt. McKinley Building, the McKay (or MacKay) Building and the McKinley Building, is a historic apartment building at 337 East Fourth Avenue in the eastern
After the building had sat for years following damage in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, it was purchased at auction by Anchorage attorney and real estate investor, Neil S. Mackay. He renamed it the McKay Building (spelling intended) and converted into an office building that housed the State of Alaska's administrative offices and a private penthouse residence occupied by Mackay. The State of Alaska moved out in 1982 when the building was condemned by the city for failing fire codes. The building was completely gutted and stood windowless and abandoned for the next 20 years largely due to Mackay's legal issues in relation to the assassination of his wife Muriel Pfeil and brother in law Robert Pfeil.
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 ...
of Anchorage, Alaska
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 ...
. Originally constructed as a 14-story HUD 604 apartment building named the Mt. McKinley Bldg, it is the first, and oldest high-rise in Anchorage. McKinley Tower was designed in 1950 by Earl W. Morrison for MacDonald Architects of Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
who also designed the nearly identical Inlet Towers at 1020 W. 12th Avenue. The building shares key design characteristics with several other buildings designed by Morrison including: Skye at Belltown in Seattle, WA. The Mendenhall Tower in Juneau, Mary Frances Towers in Ketchikan, and the Cathedral Arms building in Sitka.
The McKay Building
After the building had sat for years following damage in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, it was purchased at auction by Anchorage attorney and real estate investor, Neil S. Mackay. He renamed it the McKay Building (spelling intended) and converted into an office building that housed the State of Alaska's administrative offices and a private penthouse residence occupied by Mackay. The State of Alaska moved out in 1982 when the building was condemned by the city for failing fire codes. The building was completely gutted and stood windowless and abandoned for the next 20 years largely due to Mackay's legal issues in relation to the assassination of his wife Muriel Pfeil and brother in law Robert Pfeil.
Renovation
The tower and annex were purchased in 1998 by Anchorage developer Marc Marlow and later remodeled and brought up to code after significant seismic reinforcement work was completed."A new life for an old building: once condemned, the old MacKay building will again stand tall with a new name and makeover" by Martin, Gary L., Alaska Business Monthly, Saturday Oct 1, 2005 McKinley Tower was listed on theNational 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 v ...
in 2008.
See also
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Anchorage, Alaska
__NOTOC__
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Anchorage, Alaska.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Anchorage, Alaska, United ...
References
External links
* {{National Register of Historic Places 1952 establishments in Alaska Apartment buildings in Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Anchorage, Alaska International style architecture in Alaska Residential buildings completed in 1952 Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Residential skyscrapers in Alaska Skyscraper office buildings in Alaska Skyscrapers in Anchorage, Alaska