The sign at the door said “Governor’s House, Private Residence. Call 465-3500 for tour information.” But I did not bother, since I knew the governor was not home anyway. The TV news showed Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the “pit bull with lipstick” running mate of Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, vigorously campaigning, somewhere else in the vast United States. So, after taking the obligatory snapshots in front of the governor’s 12,900-square-foot mansion which was built in 1912, a fine example of colonial architecture, I went on to explore the rest of the neighborhood.
What immediately caught my eye was the house behind the governor’s mansion. There, on a somewhat unkempt yard (it was autumn, the grass was overgrown, and leaves that had fallen from the trees were left there resting), were two neat placards stuck on the ground proclaiming “Obama for President.” And across the street, up on a hill in front of the mansion, scribbled on a windowpane of a house with its white paint peeling, was the name “OBAMA.” Hmmmm… Well, this was not Wasilla, after all. We were in the state capital of Alaska, Juneau.
Wedged between mountains and sea, Juneau has been described as “a little San Francisco; the most beautiful city in Alaska.” Beautiful, in a quaint sort of way, I would add, with many narrow and rolling streets, flanked by old wooden houses as well as modern split-level buildings. And yes, “little” in a sense, but not in land area. Not counting “The Valley,” where the greater residential part of the city is located, for a visitor, most places of interest “downtown” are within brisk walking distance from each other. You can’t afford to saunter in the chilly outdoors. Layering is the recommended fashion, and you can’t fully appreciate the real usefulness of a scarf to keep you warm until you find yourself working your way through a chilly autumn breeze. And don’t forget your hat or hooded jacket since you wouldn’t want to get caught bareheaded when the rain falls, which can happen suddenly, anytime. Surprisingly, it seemed chillier when the sun was out than when we were caught in a drizzle.
From the Governor’s Mansion on Calhoun Ave., you can walk all the way up to the State Capitol at the corner of 4th and Main Streets, where you will find the governor’s office as well as the legislative chambers. On the fifth floor, the House Finance Committee Room, which looks out to a view of Douglas Island, has been restored to fit the original décor of the 1930s. Just a block west of the Capitol is the State Office Building, which houses the State Historical Library. The balcony on the eighth floor offers great mountain and water views facing the Gastineau Channel, which is part of the Inside Passage where numerous cruise ships glide by during peak tourist season, from mid-May to mid-September. The Juneau-Douglas City Museum at 4th and Main Streets, next to the State Capitol, is housed in the Veterans Memorial Building, which was the site of the July 4, 1959 Statehood ceremony, when the 49-star flag was first flown in Alaska. Alaska is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary of statehood (1959-2009). Outside the building stands a towering totem pole, “Harnessing the Atom,” carved by a Tlingit artist depicting the Tlingit (Juneau’s native inhabitants) legend of the origin of the universe and the harnessing of energy. You can find totem poles in different parts of the city. There is one outside the Governor’s Mansion, and another one on the eighth floor atrium of the State Office Building.
Before it was “purchased” by the United States of America in 1867 for $7.2 million, Alaska was “owned” by Russia. No, contrary to what the governor allegedly claimed to be possible, I did not see any part of Russia from where I was in Alaska. But I did get the rare opportunity to attend a service at the Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church on 5th Street. Built in 1893 with its gold onion dome and authentic icons, it is the oldest continuously used Orthodox church in Southeast Alaska. Right next door is the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, home to the Catholic Diocese of Juneau. Don’t be misled by the name. If we were to go by its size, we might be more inclined to call it a chapel rather than a cathedral. No matter, it was full to capacity for Sunday Mass, which I attended. Not surprisingly, I saw a handful of Filipinos attending the Catholic Mass. I could not help but compare it to the one-room affair at Saint Nicholas where there were less than 20 people including children who attended the Russian Orthodox service.
You will not find it in any guide book or tourist brochure, but there is a spot in downtown Juneau’s historic district which every Filipino visitor should not miss — Manila Square, which was so named to honor the contribution of Filipinos in Juneau. There, not far from the Juneau Public Library, with its beautiful waterfront location, and facing the historic Red Dog Saloon, which was founded during Juneau’s mining era on South Franklin Street, stands a bust of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. In part, the plaque states: “In 1904, aboard the cable vessel USS Burnside, 80 Filipinos assisted in the installation of the first telegraph cable linking Juneau and Seattle. During the 1920s and 1930s, Filipinos worked in southeast fish canneries where they were referred to as ‘Alaskeros’ and labored in the Alaska-Juneau gold mine. The first Filipino community in Juneau was organized in 1929.” Today, Filipinos are said to represent about 10 percent of Juneau’s population of 32,000. Juneau, which is accessible only by plane or boat from the lower 49 (there are no roads that lead there), is the third most populated city in Alaska after Anchorage and Fairbanks.
On South Franklin Street, you will also find the Filipino Community Hall, “dedicated to the memory of Filipino oldtimer Alaskans.” Bingo night is every Thursday and Sunday. Next door is the Fil-Am Mart. South Franklin is a short narrow street flanked by old buildings with touristic storefronts and shops such as Once in a Blue Moose, Mt. Juneau Trading Post (Southeast Alaska’s oldest native trading post), Northern Treasures, Alaskan Fudge Co., and Heritage Coffee Company.
We stayed at Silverbow Inn on 2nd Street, “a charming 11-room boutique hotel in a newly remodeled 1914 building in the heart of historic downtown Juneau.” With wireless Internet, cable TV, private bath in the guest rooms and antique furniture in the hallways, it reminded me of my own house back home. And since my family was with me, it actually felt like home. Breakfast was something worth looking forward to every day since Silverbow also has a café and bakery, in fact Alaska’s oldest operating bakery since the 1890s, producing traditional bagels which are first boiled and then baked fresh every morning. My favorite is their specialty, lox, which is a classic bagel topped with cold, smoked wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, cream cheese, tomato, onion and capers. And their carrot cake is the best I’ve ever tasted, moist, with creamy frosting.
If you’re planning to eat out for dinner, plan to do it before nine, which is about the time most places close for the night. We made the mistake of taking a nap the afternoon we arrived, after almost 19 hours of travel, thinking that we could have a late dinner at Wild Spice, the Mongolian grill place we spotted from our bedroom window, across the street from the inn. It was Friday night and it closed at 9 p.m. Just as we started to head for Subway on the next corner, we saw someone inside lock its doors. And the lights at the Heritage Coffee Company and Café, voted Juneau’s best coffee, next door, were already closed.
A kindly gentleman passing by must have noticed our lost look and without waiting to be asked, he volunteered a place that he was certain was still open at the Merchants Wharf, a few blocks away, closer to the water. Try the Hangar on the Wharf, he said, not Doc Water’s, he cautioned, which we gathered from his tone was a drinking place. Later, we read in the Juneau Empire that Doc Water’s Pub was reported to be one of the establishments expected to close by the end of the month as local businesses have been adversely effected by the financial crisis on Wall Street.
The Hangar on the Wharf, “Juneau’s favorite waterfront restaurant,” turned out to be a good recommendation, and we returned a couple of days later to have our fill of Alaska’s celebrated Red King Crab Legs served by the bucket, with a dipping sauce of lemon and melted butter. The other eating places which we got to try during our stay were Pizzeria Roma at the Merchants Wharf, “a local favorite for gourmet pies and a variety of salads”; Pel Meni, a hole in the wall at the Wharf for “authentic homemade Russian dumplings”; and yes, Lutong Pinoy at North Franklin Street, for comfort food — sinigang na hipon, pork adobo, pancit bihon, and halo-halo, complete with a slice of leche flan and topped with a scoop of ube ice cream, the best I’ve ever tasted.
The good thing about visiting Alaska off-season is you can have the docks all to yourself, which would otherwise be crowded with waves of tourists on shore excursions from the cruise ships. You can walk up the boardwalk (keep an eye out for eagles), all the way to the Taku Smokeries where you can get, for take home and pasalubong, bottled smoked wild Alaskan salmon commercially caught in Juneau waters. “Friends don’t let friends eat farmed salmon” is their slogan. Not far from Taku’s big green and redbuilding is the Mt. Roberts Tramway, which makes a six-minute ascent from the cruise ship docks up Mount Roberts for a breathtaking aerial view of the city below. But when it’s cloudy and misty and hardly anything can be seen, then there is no point in going up.
However, an overcast sky is the best condition for viewing glaciers. A moving river of glacial ice with rugged crevices, its crystalline structure that absorbs and reflects light gives it its distinctive intense blue color, which fades when it breaks down and is exposed to air. The magnificent Mendenhall Glacier is located in Juneau’s backyard, 13 miles from downtown, in the Tongass National Forest, the largest temperate rainforest in North America. It is the largest glacier in Southeast Alaska that is accessible by road. To get there, we took a cab. This alpine glacier, which stretches 12 miles, from the vast (1,500 square miles) 3,000-year-old Juneau Icefield to Mendenhall Lake, is said to be retreating at a rapid rate since 1999 and may completely disappear within a few centuries. There is no better time to see it, before it does, than now.
There were a few things we did not get to do on our visit to Alaska this time, such as visit a salmon hatchery and watch returning salmon swim up a fish ladder to spawn, or go farther out in the rich waters around Juneau for whale watching, which are all best done in the summer months. But as a wise traveler once said, “You don’t have to see everything all at one time. You will be back.”