Judge Wickersham's Courthouse Square
It
was through Judge Wickersham's efforts that the first courthouse was built in downtown
Fairbanks.
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This photo is from the Driscoll Collection,
courtesy of the UAF Archives.
The building contains the still working, very first elevator in Fairbanks. The
complete collection of portraits in Jean Lester's first published volume,
Faces of
Alaska: A Glimpse of History Through Paintings, Photographs and Oral History is
on permanent public display in the building, now called Courthouse Square.
The building still bears the label "Post Office" which confuses
visitors. The new post office is located behind it and one block south.
At the top of this page is what the building looked like after the original
structure burned down and was replaced with concrete. At various times, it served as the
City Jail, the Post Office, and as a mini-mall housing various museum displays. Today, the
Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Public Lands
Information Center share the building with others.