Fairbanks City Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Main School
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 Location in Downtown Fairbanks
Location in Alaska
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| Location | 800 Cushman Street, Fairbanks, Alaska |
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| Area | 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) |
| Built | 1934 |
| Built by | William MacDonald Construction Company |
| Architect | Tourtellotte & Hummel |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 90001472 |
| Added to NRHP | September 27, 1990 |
The Patrick B. Cole Fairbanks City Hall is an important building in Fairbanks, Alaska. It is also known as Main School or Old Main. This is because it used to be a school. You can find it at 800 Cushman Street in downtown Fairbanks.
This building was constructed in 1934. It has a special design style called Art Deco. It is made of strong concrete. The new building replaced an older wooden school. That first school was built in 1907 but sadly burned down in 1932. Fairbanks grew a lot during World War II and the Cold War. Because of this growth, the school building was made bigger in 1939 and again in 1948.
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A School for Many Years
This building was the only school in Fairbanks for a long time. It opened in 1934 and served all students. In 1951, Denali Elementary School opened. After that, the Main School became a junior and senior high school.
Later, Lathrop High School started operating. Then, the building became Main Junior High School. It stayed a junior high until the early 1970s. At that time, two new junior high schools opened. These were Ryan Junior High School and Tanana Junior High School.
From Classrooms to Offices
After Main Junior High closed, the building was used differently. It mostly hosted special alternative education programs. Its main job became housing offices. These were the offices for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. The school district used the building from 1976 to 1993.
Most of these offices moved to a new location in the mid-1980s. After that, the building was mostly empty for many years. Eventually, it was completely unused.
Fairbanks City Hall Today
Since 1994, the building has been home to the city offices. These offices moved from the previous City Hall. That old building was just three blocks north.
Besides city offices, the building also has a gymnasium. This gym is now home to the Fairbanks Boys & Girls Club. This club helps young people in the community. In the past, other groups also used the building. These included the Fairbanks Boxing Club and the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce.
A Historic Landmark
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It was listed under its old name, Main School. This list helps protect important historical places.
The building was later renamed the Patrick B. Cole City Hall. This was to honor Patrick Cole. He was a City Manager for a long time. He also worked as Chief of Staff for eight different Fairbanks City Mayors.
See also
