Kodiak preservation commission suggests 25 places for a history survey of up to 20

The City of Kodiak Historic Preservation Commission has suggested 25 places for a city history survey that will document up to 20 of them. The list runs from the fishing vessel Kilkenny to single-room buildings where cannery workers once lived. Commissioners compiled it at their Oct. 1 meeting, according to draft minutes they are set to approve Friday.

Gianna Kersch of True North Sustainable Development Solutions led the discussion. The city contracted the firm for the survey after it worked on Kodiak's 2025 preservation plan, according to the Oct. 1 meeting packet. That packet says grant money will pay a historic preservation professional to document up to 20 properties.

Working waterfront sites fill much of the list: the APS Cannery, Pacific Seafoods, Kodiak Marine Supply and other historic wooden boats beyond the Kilkenny. Tagura Road and its neighborhood, including TT Fuller's boat yard, also made the list.

Homes include Benny Benson's former house and banya, the Chernoff House, the old Kraft house and Markham's home. The list also names St. Herman Cemetery, an "original cemetery underneath hotel parking lots" and the Pillar Mountain cairn known as "Chuchala."

Other entries are Cope Street, Natalia Lane, Yukon Street, Fisherman's Hall, the B&B Bar, McDonald's, a brewery building, Kodiak Community Baptist Church, the Roy H. Madsen Justice Center and Kodiak College.

The survey will feed the city's inventory of historic places. Inventory upkeep is one of 15 priorities in the 2025 preservation plan, and the packet for Friday's meeting lists it as in progress for 2026. The city applied for a Historic Preservation Fund grant for the inventory in March. The Oct. 1 packet says the grant matches 60% of the project's cost, or $15,000.

Commissioners meet Friday at 1 pm at Fisherman's Hall to review all 15 priorities and name a first step for each in the coming year. Residents may comment in person or by phone.

The commission will also redo its Oct. 1 vote recommending that a lease application for the 1938 Griffin Memorial Hospital building fits the city's design intent for it. The application comes from the Kodiak Maritime Museum and Kodiak History Museum, and the City Council agreed in September not to sell the building for now.