Black Rapids Roadhouse

Rapids Roadhouse

A south facing photo of the roadhouse.
Nearest city Delta, Alaska
Coordinates 63°31′48″N 145°51′24″W / 63.53000°N 145.85667°W / 63.53000; -145.85667Coordinates: 63°31′48″N 145°51′24″W / 63.53000°N 145.85667°W / 63.53000; -145.85667
Area less than one acre
Built 1904 (1904)
NRHP Reference # 01000021[1]
Added to NRHP February 2, 2001
An east facing photo of the roadhouse with the new lodge visible in the background.

The Black Rapids Roadhouse is a historic Alaskan structure along the Richardson Highway in east-central Alaska. It was built in 1902.[2][3][4] 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 was built near the roadhouse in 2001 and the original building is preserved as a historical curiosity and tourist attraction.

Black Rapids Glacier

Black Rapids Roadhouse is across the Delta River 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 27-mile (43 km) 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

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Sherry Simpson. "Roadhouse". Alaska magazine.
  3. ↑ The Rapids Roadhouse: History Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Michael Parrish. "Finding Gold Rush tales and roadhouse comforts on the Richardson Highway". Los Angeles Times.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.