So, in conclusion ... our Air Crossroads of the World contemplates its future, from a similar position as that of the ancient Greeks, or later the city of Rome... and much later ... England — the trade center of its time, between East and West — North and South. In any event, we are in the enviable position of being able to determine our future. Aside from the tremendous growth and build-up factors, we are unique because of our urbanity ... nowhere else are the advantages of modern day living offered to the extent they exist here, while at the same time offering the distinct closeness to the great outdoors, for which we are noted. With all these assets, Anchorage is indeed on the threshold of the greatest period of development in its history

Banks, Claire O.

English

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UMR Journal -- V. H. McNutt Colloquium Series Volume 2 Article 19 June 1971 The Future of Anchorage Claire O. Banks Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/umr-journal  Part of the Geology Commons, Geophysics and Seismology Commons, Mining Engineering Commons, and the Petroleum Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Banks, Claire O. (1971) "The Future of Anchorage," UMR Journal -- V. H. McNutt Colloquium Series: Vol. 2 , Article 19. Available at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/umr-journal/vol2/iss1/19 This Article - Journal is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars' Mine. It has been accepted for inclusion in UMR Journal -- V. H. McNutt Colloquium Series by an authorized administrator of Scholars' Mine. This work is protected by U. S. Copyright Law. Unauthorized use including reproduction for redistribution requires the permission of the copyright holder. For more information, please contact scholarsmine@mst.edu. UMR Journal, No. 2 (June 1971) 103The Future of AnchorageClaire O. Banks Executive Vice President Greater Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Anchorage, AlaskaThe fu ture of Anchorage, as a part of this symposium, is somewhat foreign to  our general theme and title; however, as a typical chamber of commerce executive, anxious to discuss the assets of my home town, I would subm it here that this city is a vital key to  the top  of the world.Anchorage is the largest trade-center in the northernm ost part o f N orth  America — equal in latitude to  Oslo, Norway, and Leningrad, Russia. And, while its geographic location plays an impor­tant role, climate qualifies equally. Warmed by the continual flow of the Japanese Current, tem pera­tures are identical to the N orthern states of Michigan, the Dakotas and Wisconsin (Figure 1). Our coldest climate averages 13 degrees above zero ... o ften  times, much warmer than the weather in Chicago, New York, and Great Falls, Montana, Our relatively moderate w inter climate is ideal for outdoor recreation, and it affords our people a wide selection of ou tdoor winter sports.Our most outstanding local area celebraton is staged during w inter — in February. To Alaskans it is com parable to  the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It is titled, “ The Fur Rendezvous” and features world championship dogsled racing, Eskimo blan­ket toss, fur auctions, and a myriad of outdoor contests, all wrapped-up in a “ Klondike - 1898” atmosphere.To discuss the future o f Anchorage, it is necessary to know a bit about Alaska. For instance, it is im portant to  know that nowhere under the American flag is there a region so vast and so sparsely populated. The S tate of Alaska is one/fifth  the size of the United States. It is twice the size of the State of Texas. It is four times larger than  the State of California. Alaska has four major tim e zones — five separate climatic regions — a coastline longer than that of the United States. The entire population of this huge area is only two  hundred and ninety-four thousand persons! TheFigure 1. Aerial Photograph of the City of Anchorage104 C. O. Bankspoin t I want to  emphasize here is the fac t that Anchorage, which is Alaska’s largest city, has a m etropolitan population  figure o f one hundred  and tw en ty-four thousand inhabitants, or, more than  fo rty  per cent o f the S tate’s to ta l census figures. It is Alaska’s social, financial, trade  and distribution  center. Anchorage is where th e  action is! This is the city th a t  national magazine writers have term ed “ The c ity  that can’t wait fo r  tom or­ro w ” — “The Chicago o f  the N o r th ” — or our favorite adopted title, “The air crossroads o f  the world. ”If asked to  classify four m ajor elm ents that qualify this city to  have a brilliant future. I would list them  as follows:1) A highly developed transporta tion  com­plex;2) A wide range o f trades & services;3) A solid basic econom ic core of govern­ment agencies & governm ent related ac­tivities; and,4) The attitude  o f  the people.All four elem ents relate to  some degree to  our strategic location in th e  northernm ost part o f the N orth  American continent. Anchorage enjoys an unusual “ hub” position  with respect to  our region; and in international trade and com m erce. The services and facilities available here are not offered w ithin thousands of miles. We have, in a sense, a captive market. It may consist of m ore m oose than people, but never-the-less, business volumes are incredible. Anchorage is alive w ith  com petition  and is definitely no place fo r the meek and  mild operator.Aviation is one o f  our prime econom ic factors in transportation. Over one thousand in tercon­tinental jets land at o u r airports each week. We have direct airline service to  not only the largest, b u t to  the m ajor cities of th e  world. Ten foreign air-carriers, plus several American international airlines utilize our a irpo rt as a re-fueling term inal, a stop-over or passenger term inal in  their certifi­cated routes over the  north  pole from  Europe to Asia — from th e  Eastern seaboard to  the O rient— from  South America to  the O rient, and from  the West coast to Tokyo, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco into Japan. We have d irect service into  Hawaii, New York, London, Paris, A m sterdam  — even in to  Siberia and Russia during our sum m er charter-flight season. Anchorage is the cen ter for the bush  and business type aircraft that fan  out in to  the  far reaches o f  the interior. In fact, we are term ed “ The Flyingest City in the Flyingest S tate” by  the Federal A viation A dm inistration. Every th irtie th  person has a private p ilo t’s license — every ninety-sixth person owns his ow n aircraft.A nother im p ortan t transportation  facility  in our city  is the federally owned Alaska Railroad.With its 470 miles of track , a major service is perform ed in supplying freight to  over ha lf of the residents o f Alaska. H eadquartered in Anchorage, the Alaska Railroad connects the city o f Fairbanks w ith the salt-water ports o f Anchorage, Seward and W hittier. Jo in t m arine/rail/barge operations account for considerable* tonnage readily ware­housed and distributed from  the Anchorage market-place. The Alaska Railroad also handles passenter traffic.Of equal im portance is our twenty-five million dollar port facility. With a highly developed coast-wise traffic, it also serves as a port o f  call for ships from the South  ’48  Japan. Its  m odern equipm ent and highly skilled workm en provide the rail-belt and air cargo term inals w ith y ear ’round tonnage and a com petitive rate-structure w ith tha t of th e  railroad/m arine operations m entioned earlier (Figure 2).Over tw enty  m ajor trucking firms (nationally  know n) are based in Anchorage. While w e do not have sufficient highways to  serve th e  various com m unities in Alaska, we are linked w ith  Fair­banks, the Kenai Peninusla and the fam ed Alaska Highway. The highways in  Alaska are surfaced w ith black-top or asphalt, and  are well m aintained and open in all seasons.Until recently, our econom y was one of governm ent spending. W ith almost every con­ceivable federal agency, state  agency and the headquarters for our borough and city governm ent employees, government payroll and governm ent jobs were in major part o u r econom y. A lthough governm ent still is a sizeable part, the econom y is shifting into  a healthier private enterprise sector. Today, w ith the advent o f petroleum , a growing tourism  and convention industry , we estim ate our private enterprise ratio  to  over-balance the half­way mark. To illustrate the  magnitude o f  govern­m ent spending in one agency, solely, th e  military procurem ent and payroll figure, annually, am ounts to  m ore than  100 million dollars. We have over 30 thousand military and dependents in our com ­m unity . Two of America’s largest m ilitary bases are stationed  adjacent to  Anchorage — the U. S. Arm y Post, Fort R ichardson — and the U. S. Air Force Base, Elmendorf. H eadquartered w ithin  this fram ew ork is the Alaskan Com mand and the subordinate Air, Army and  Naval S ea/F ron tier Commands.Owing to  tim e, it is im possible to  cover the entire m arket, however, I’ll highlight a few tha t must be m entioned:Com m unications represent a sizeable industry. The Dew Line and White Alice Alerting Systems, as well as the long-lines and radio short-wave links w ith the  rest of the world are located here. Over 100 million dollars in com m unications, alone, is toU M R  Journal, N o. 2 (June 1971)T h e  F u tu re  o f  A ncho rag e 1 0 5Figure 2. Port o f A nchoragebe invested in A nchorage under th e  private secto r take-over from  m ilitary-m aintained telephone links.Agriculture: While a m ajority  o f o u r item s are im ported , the  rich and fertile  M atanuska Valley provides Anchorage w ith  an  unusual array of fresh  m am m oth  sized food stuffs .... fresh produce.Petroleum : The first discovery of oil and gas was m ade near A nchorage in 1957, on the Kenai Peninsula. T hat area, alone, is now  producing 220 thousand  barrels of oil per day. Over tw en ty  m ajor oil com panies are h eadquartered  in our city . Several new high rise office buildings now decorate  our skyline ... owned by com panies w ho are here to  stay.Tourism and C onventions: Did you  know , Alaska has been voted  in several national travel polls, am ong the to p  ten  as an ideal vacation area? Also conventioning is ideal here owing to  excellent hotels and restaurants. Three new hotels are presently  readying fo r th e  com ing year. The R oyal Inns of A m erica — T he G rand Plaza tow er adjacent to  our large Anchorage-W estward H otel C om plex— and, Holiday Inn  in construc ting  250 units, w ith an additional 100 room s to  be added th e  following year. This m o n th , five conven tions are being held in our com m unity , bringing in  an estim ated  $800 thousand  dollars. This figure exludes transporta­tion  costs, incidentally .Medical Facilities: Five hospitals grace our area, affording us the most m odern  equ ipm en t and technicians. A C obalt C enter, a com plete medical library and a roster of every  m edical specialty practiced  by highly skilled physicians — our hospitals now boast o f com ple te  coronary-care units th rou gh o u t.Financial Headquarters: A nchorage is the  Wall S treet o f Alaska. Five separate  com m ercial bank­ing institu tions, w ith a m yriad  of branch-banks th ro u g h o u t the  area and A laska, are now  flanked w ith  tw o  savings banks. S tock  brokerage firms w ith  constan t com m unications into  th e  national exchange b roadcast the o pen  and close pricings, daily.Educational Facilities: R ated  as fo u rth  in the nation , the  A nchorage school system  now has anU M R  Journal, N o. 2  (June 1971)106 C. O. Banksassessed valuation exceeding one billion dollars in elem entary and secondary schools, alone. Add to  this o u r Alaska M ethodist U niversity and o u r brand new C om m unity  Jun io r College, a b ranch  o f the  University o f Alaska, and we find ourselves w ith  ano ther sizable industry.Fishing: While sport fishing and hun ting  are exciting features o f Alaska and over 22 million dollars o f revenue is derived therefrom , it is im portan t th a t we m en tion  com m ercial fishing. Our neighboring com m unities located on  the sea enjoy catches of the  very finest king crab, large shrim p, halibut and salm on. Our fisherm en w ork the second largest coastal shelf in th e  world. B ottom  fish are abundant in  these waters.Like all m odern Am erican cities, we have parking m eters, color television, daily newspapers, swimming pools, and beaches, theaters, tennis courts, num erous parks and  gardens — we have over 300 clubs and organizations — a C om m unity  Chorus and O rchestra — we even have daylight saving tim e in  our land o f th e  m idnight sun!Now — I want to  show  exactly  w hat our c ity  fathers and planning experts have projected  for us in the way o f grow th in th e  next ten  and  tw enty  years:POPULATION:HOUSING:SCHOOLS:TELEPHONES:EMPLOYMENT:AIR CARGO:Up 228%Up 248% from  3,000 to  alm ost5 .000  un its  per year fo r nineteen years!Up 275%; over 2,010 classrooms m ust be built to  accom odate 4 3 ,0 0 0  pupils in the first th rough  tw elfth  grades!Up 495%Up 195% or an increase of4 0 .000  new jo b s  to  be created b y  1989 - ju st abou t doubling o u r present labor force!Up 1160% and Air Passengers Up 654%Frankly, we believe our pro jections to  be ultraconservative... they  were m ade p rio r to  the petroleum  industry ’s interest evidenced in the Septem ber ‘69 oil lease sale. Y ou’ll recall, the interest was substantial — it am ounted to  over nine hundred million dollars in  profit to  th e  S tate of Alaska! A nd, of ex trem e im portance in  our pro­jections in the fu tu re  will be th e  po ten tia l of, atleast, eight additional oil provinces th a t have been virtually unexplored and untapped .At this m om ent, on  the N orth  Slope, alone, the  petro leum  industry  is concerned abou t the packaging and p roduction  o f an estim ated tw enty  trillion cubic feet of gas w hich is already in dem and by the U. S. consum er. Cook In let gas, from  nearby wells, has already found its way to  Anchorage consumers.On th e  concept of strategic location  — plus — this vast mineral w ealth th a t now loom s in our A rctic treasure chest — our relatively new city which is only fifty  years young, November, 1970, have begun to  burst fo rth  as a dynam ic city  of tom orrow .In the  past four m onths, we have inaugurated a new 14 million dollar airport — a 4 m illion dollar departm ent store — the com pletion  o f Alaska’s largest shopping mall com plex. We’ve seen the com pletion of tw o high rise petroleum  head­quarter buildings — the three new hotels already m entioned — the  announcem ent o f one hundred million dollars being invested in the  RCA- C om m unications take-over o f the  long-lines com­m unication system  — the  announcem ent o f a brand new 28 story  building in dow ntow n A nchor­age ... and ... finally, th e  announcem ent to  build th e  w orld’s first to ta l environm entally  controlled city  to  be built adjacent to  th e  Anchorage area by the  Tandy C orporation  o f Oklahom a. It is titled “ Seward’s Success” and will accom m odate 50 thousand  people in the nex t tw en ty  years. I t  will be  com pletely void o f m otor vehicles. Its people will move on electric shu ttle  carts and  conveyor belts. It will be a p ro to typ e , tw enty-first century  city  ... and a part o f A nchorage’s fringe area.So, in conclusion ... our A ir Crossroads o f the World contem plates its fu tu re , from  a similar position as th a t o f the ancient Greeks, or later the c ity  of Rom e... and m uch later ... England — the trade center o f its tim e, betw een  East and West — N orth  and South. In any event, we are in  the enviable position of being able to  determ ine our future. Aside from  the trem endous grow th and build-up factors, we are unique because o f our urbanity  ... now here else are the advantages of m odern day living offered to  th e  ex ten t they  exist here, while at the  same tim e offering the distinct closeness to  the  great o u td oo rs, for w hich we are noted. With all these assets, A nchorage is indeed on the threshold  o f the  greatest period of develop­m ent in its h istory.Claire O. BanksMr. Banks is the Executive Vice-President of the Greater Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. He has lived in Alaska for the past seventeen years and during this time been very involved in community affairs. He has served as President ofU M R  Journal, No. 2  (June 1971)The Future of Anchorage 107the Greater Chamber o f Commerce, 1956-57; President of the Anchorage Rotary Club, 1958-59; Vice-President of North American Highway Association, 1962-67; Vice President of the Council of Western Retail Association, 1968-70, and as a member of the Governor’s Commission, Alaska State Centennial, 1965-67.Mr. Banks attended Lower Columbia Junior College, 1937-38, was then in the U.S. Navy in radio communications, 1942-43, then he attended the NBC Institute at Stanford and finally the Institutes for Organizational Management in Santa Clara, 1958-65.He was born in Reubens, Idaho and lived various places before settling in Anchorage, Alaska. He is married and has three children all attending college. The family hobbies and interests center around outdoor recreation, boating, skiing, camping and sport fishing which are all especially popular in the Anchorage area.U M R  Journal, No. 2  (June 1971 )

The Future of Anchorage

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The Future of Anchorage

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