Juneau committee to review bid to list Telephone Hill as national historic district

Juneau's Historic Resources Advisory Committee is scheduled to review an application Wednesday, Oct. 7, to list the Telephone Hill neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places. The Alaska Historical Association submitted the application as the City and Borough of Juneau plans to demolish the area's seven remaining homes by the end of 2026 to make way for new housing.

The committee meets at 5 pm at the Downtown Library. The association has also drafted a resolution of support for the committee to consider, which it would send to the State Historic Preservation Office with the application.

Listing would not by itself stop the demolition. Under federal law, it places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner does with a property, "up to and including destruction," unless the project uses federal money, according to the National Park Service.

The homes sit downtown between Willoughby Avenue, Main Street, Egan Drive and the State Office Building, and were built between 1882 and 1939. They hold 13 rental units, all now empty. In a Sept. 28 letter to the committee, association Director Catherine Fritz called the review "urgent" and wrote that the 1882 house was Juneau's oldest continuously occupied home until March. She has also urged the Assembly to consider a design option that would keep the homes alongside new development.

The city plans up to 155 housing units on the site, including more than 30 for households earning 80% of area median income, with construction expected in 2027. The Assembly approved $5.5 million for demolition and site preparation in May 2025. The city's project FAQ says bringing the old buildings up to code would be costly and "an inappropriate use of public funds."