Timber and Time: Sitka’s Living Landmarks

In this episode of "Raven About Sitka," host Kathrynn guides listeners through Sitka, Alaska’s historic streets, exploring iconic sites like Castle Hill, Saint Michael’s Cathedral, the Russian Bishop’s House, and the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall. She weaves together stories of indigenous leadership, Russian colonization, American acquisition, wartime history, and Alaska Native civil rights, showing how Sitka’s architecture embodies resilience, spiritual devotion, and layered history. Kathrynn invites listeners to see Sitka’s buildings as living witnesses to the city’s complex past and enduring community spirit.

Episode Transcript

(00:16):
Welcome to Raven About Sitka, thepodcast that peeks behind the mist
and into the soul of Sitka, Alaska.I'm your host, Kathrynn,
and today we're wandering through aliving museum, our very streets.
Sitka is more than breathtakingviews and rich cultural traditions.
It's a city carved in wood andstone where buildings whisper

(00:37):
stories of colonization,resilience and spiritual devotion.
Today, we're going to explore some ofSitka's most iconic and historical
buildings, from orthodox oniondomes to World War II era bunkers.
You'll want to lace up yourboots for this one.
We're going to do some serioustime travel.

(00:58):
Let's begin at Castle Hill orNew Clean to the Tlingit people.
Before any Russian or Americanflag ever flew here.
This high ground was a site ofindigenous leadership.
Later it became a Russianfortification.
And in 1867, it was the veryspot where Russia handed Alaska
over to the United States.Talk about prime real estate in

(01:21):
the history book.Today, Castle Hill is a state
historic site and a powerful reminderof layered sovereignty and change.
Just down the hill,we find building 29, one of the few
surviving Russian American companybuildings dating back to the 1830s.
Made from massive spruce logs andremarkably preserved, this structure

(01:44):
once housed employees of the furtrading empire that built its fortune
and its infrastructure on the backsof native labor and sea otter pelt.
Sitka skyline isn't completewithout the green onion dome of
Saint Michael's Orthodox Cathedral,originally built in 1848.
This church was a beacon of theRussian Orthodox faith in the
New World.Although the original building burned

(02:07):
down in 1966, it was meticulouslyrebuilt to match the original
right down to the hand-paintedicons and candlelit ambiance.
A short walk away stands SaintPeter's by the Sea Episcopal Church,
completed in 1899.It was a spiritual home for the
growing American population.Its Gothic architecture,

(02:29):
complete with stained glass anda pipe organ, speaks to the
ecclesiastical elegance of its time.Then there's the Sitka Lutheran
Church, built in 1840.It's the first Protestant church
on the West coast.And yes, it's still active today.
Its altar and chandeliers werehand-carved in Finland and smuggled

(02:49):
across the continent. And an ocean.Wow. If pews could talk.
Now let's talk about the Russianbishop's house, which sounds
like a royal bed and breakfast,but it's actually one of the oldest
intact examples of Russian colonialarchitecture in North America.
Built in 1842, it served as homeand office to the Bishop of Alaska.

(03:10):
Restored by the National ParkService.
It's a time capsule ofecclesiastical and domestic life.
Creaky floorboards and all.Not far from there is the Russian
blockhouse, a reconstructedoctagonal fortification
originally used for defense.Think palisade style meets
paranoid colonial architecture.These blockhouses ringed the

(03:32):
Russian settlement, meant toward off attacks from both rival
nations and the Tlingit people,whose land they were occupying.
Cross the O'Connell bridge andyou'll hit Japanese Island,
named for some shipwreckedJapanese sailors in the 1800s.
But in World War Two,Japan transformed into a strategic
military hub, complete with anaval air base and barracks.

(03:55):
The buildings still stand weathered,watchful reminders of wartime
vigilance.Today, it's home to Southeast
Alaska Regional Healthcare'sMount Edgcumbe Medical Center,
as well as the University ofAlaska Southeast campus.
Proving that old battlefieldscan find new purpose.
Nearby on the Sitka side of thechannel.

(04:17):
The Mariners wall honors thoselost at sea.
While not a building,it's a vital structure in
Sitka's emotional architecture.You'll find names etched in stone,
fishing vessels remembered, and thepersistent ache of the ocean's toll.
One of Sitka's most culturallysignificant buildings is the
Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall,or A and B Hall, built in 1914.

(04:41):
It's not flashy,but its impact is monumental.
This hall is ground zero for AlaskaNative civil rights history.
Here, the brotherhood and sisterhoodorganized against segregation,
pushed for voting rights,and created lasting social change.
When you walk through its doors,you're stepping onto sacred
civic ground.Then there's the Sitka maritime

(05:03):
Heritage Society, Headquarteredin the Old Island Boathouse.
These folks are preserving morethan just planks and nails.
They're preserving Sitka's soulas a seafaring town.
Wooden boats, hand tools andstories handed down like heirlooms.
This place is a love letter to themaritime legacy of Southeast Alaska.

(05:24):
Tucked away in the Sitka RussianCemetery lies Princess Mashtots
grave, wife of the last Russiangovernor of Alaska.
She died young and far from home.Her story largely obscured by time,
her grave, marked modestly, is asymbol of the human cost of empire,
its alliances, its losses and thewomen history too often forgets.

(05:49):
Finally, we can't talk aboutSitka's historical architecture
without mentioning the SitkaNational Historical Park,
formerly known as Indian River Park.While it's best known for its
totem poles and the site of the1804 Battle of Sitka.
The park's ranger buildings andvisitor center also reflect
mid-century Park Servicearchitecture.
Simple, utilitarian and deeply rootedin place. So what does it all mean?

(06:14):
These buildings aren't just old.They're alive.
They're embodiments of spiritualhope, colonial conquest,
indigenous resistance, wartime fear,and community strength.
Sitka's architecture doesn't askyou to pick a side.
It asks you to pay attention.So next time you stroll down town or

(06:35):
gaze at Castle Hill, look again.Notice the angles, the wood grain.
The way a building leans intothe wind.
Sitka's stories aren't just inmuseums. They're in the walls.
Thanks for joining me today onRaven about Sitka.
If you liked what you heard,be sure to subscribe,
leave a review, or send a raven.Yeah, email works too.

(06:58):
Until next time, I'm Kathrynnreminding you that in Sitka even the
buildings have something to say.