Juneau City and Borough, Alaska

The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel on the Alexander Archipelago in the U.S. state of Alaska, and is the state capital. The municipality unified in 1970 when the City of Juneau merged with the City of Douglas and the surrounding borough to form the current home rule municipality.

The city, Alaska's second-largest in terms of population, is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and across the channel from Douglas Island. As of the 2000 census, the City and Borough had a population of 30,711. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 population estimate for the City and Borough was 31,118.

Juneau was named after gold prospector Joe Juneau. The Tlingit name of the town is Dzántik'i Héeni "where the flounders gather", and Auke Bay just north of Juneau proper is called Aakh'w "little lake" in Tlingit. The Taku River just south of Juneau was named after the cold t'aakh wind that blows down from the mountains, and is the source of some of Juneau's more unpleasant weather.

Geography and climate

Juneau is located at (58.351422, -134.511579).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 8,430.4 km² (3,255.0 mi²). 7,036.1 km² (2,716.7 mi²) of it is land and 1,394.3 km² (538.3 mi²) of it (16.54%) is water.

Average annual rainfall is greater then 90 inches^* (228 cm); annual average snowfall is 101 inches (257 cm).
The average high temperature in July is 65°F (18°C), and the average low temperature in January is 25°F (-4°C).

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

Haines Borough, Alaska - north
Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska - south and west

Also shares an eastern border with British Columbia, Canada.

Stikine Region, British Columbia

History

From before European settlement in the Americas, the Gastineau Channel was a favorite fishing ground for local Tlingit Indians, known then as the Auke and Taku tribes, who had inhabited the area for thousands of years. The native cultures are rich with artistic traditions including carving, weaving, orating, singing and dancing, and Juneau has become a major social center for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian of Southeast Alaska.

In 1880, Sitka mining engineer George Pilz offered a reward to any local chief who could lead him to gold-bearing ore. Chief Kowee arrived with some ore and prospectors were sent to investigate. On their first trip, to Gold Creek, they found little of interest. However, at Chief Kowee's urging Pilz sent Joe Juneau and Richard Harris back to the Gastineau Channel, directing them to Snow Slide Gulch (the head of Gold Creek) where they found nuggets "as large as peas and beans," in Harris' words.

On October 18, 1880 the two men marked a 160-acre (0.6 km²) town site where soon a mining camp appeared. Within a year the camp became a small town, the first to be founded after Alaska's purchase by the United States.

The town was originally called Harrisburg, after Richard Harris; some time later its name was changed to Rockwell. In 1881 the miners met and renamed the town Juneau, after Joe Juneau. In 1906, after the diminution of the whaling and fur trade, Sitka, the original capital of Alaska, declined in importance and the seat of government was moved to Juneau.

In 1954, a measure was passed to move the state's capital north in order to locate it closer to the state's population center. A provision that required the new capital to be located at least 30 miles from the cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks, to prevent them from having undue influence over the rest of the state, stalled the relocation process to the point that in the end Juneau remained the capital. In the 1970s, serious plans were made to move the capital to a site near Willow, a town on the Parks Highway about 70 miles north of Anchorage. However, these plans never went very far.

Several ballot initiatives have been held on the issue of moving the capital ^*. The first such proposal was on the ballot of the state's first general election ballot: the voters chose not to move the capital from Juneau to the Cook Inlet-Railbelt area. A 1974 referendum actually passed, which led to the choice of the Willow site. This project died after the electorate voted against funding it (at a cost of billions of dollars) in 1978 and 1982. However, the Willow plan was partially revived in 2002 with a proposal to move the legislative branch to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (which includes Willow): this initiative lost by a 2-1 margin.

Once Alaska was granted statehood in 1959, Juneau grew with the growth of state government. Growth accelerated remarkably after the construction of the Alaska Pipeline in 1977, state budget flush with oil revenues; Juneau expanded predictably with both increased government and tourism jobs. That growth slowed considerably in the 1990s , and the state demographer expects the borough to grow very slowly over the next twenty years.

Juneau is larger in area than the State of Delaware and was for many years the country's largest city. It no longer holds the record, however, having been surpassed by the incorporation of Sitka in 2000. Juneau continues to be the only US state capital located on an international border: it is bordered on the east by Canada.

Transportation

The Alaska Legislature meets in the Alaska State Capitol (formerly the Territorial Building) in Juneau, which is the only mainland state capital in the U.S. which cannot be accessed by road. Located in the Alaska Panhandle, it is not easily accessible from most of the rest of the state. The only way to reach Juneau is via sea or air; (cars and trucks being transported by barge or ferry). Currently the State of Alaska is considering a number of ways to improve transportation to and from Juneau, with a connecting road to Skagway being a main alternative. Local opinion on the matter is decidedly mixed, with some seeing the road as a needed link between Juneau and the rest of Alaska, and others having concerns about the environmental, social, and economic impacts a road would have.

On August 10, 2005, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities issued a press release announcing that the preferred addition to air travel and state ferries was a partial road and fast ferry combination — East Lynn Canal Highway to the Katzehin River with shuttles to Haines and Skagway. ^*

There are several glaciers near hiking trails (including the Mendenhall Glacier), one bridge to Douglas Island, and five main road termini. Scheduled airline service is provided at Juneau International Airport. Seaplanes also offer regular service to most other Southeast Alaska communities, and Juneau is a central port for the Alaska Marine Highway and the port of registry for some of its ships.

Districts

Two districts have been defined by the Assembly of the City and Borough of Juneau:

District 1 precinct
- Downtown Juneau
- Salmon Creek
- Lemon Creek
- Switzer Creek
- Juneau International Airport
- Douglas Island
District 2 precincts
- Mendenhall Valley
- Auke Bay
- Fritz Cove
- Lynn Canal

People and culture

Demographics

As of the 2000 census of 2000, there were 30,700 people, 11,500 households, and 7,600 families residing in the Juneau. The population density was 4.4/km² (11.3/mi²). There were 12,300 housing units at an average density of 1.7/km² (4.5/mi²). By race Juneau was 75% white, 11% Native American, 5% Asian, 0.8% black, 0.4% Pacific Islander, and 3% Hispanic or Latino of any race. One percent belonged to other races, and 7% to two or more races.

There were 11,500 households out of which 37% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51% were married couples living together, 11% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34% were non-families. 24% of all households were made up of individuals and 4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.6 and the average family size was 3.1.

In the borough the population was spread out with 27% under the age of 18, 8% from 18 to 24, 33% from 25 to 44, 26% from 45 to 64, and 6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 102 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $62,000, and the median income for a family was $70,300. Males had a median income of $46,700 versus $33,200 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,700. 6% of the population and 4% of families were below the poverty line. 7% of those under the age of 18 and 4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Arts

Juneau is home to Perseverance Theatre, Alaska's only professional theater. Juneau hosts the annual Folk Festival and Juneau Jazz & Classics music festivals, and the local Juneau Symphony performs regularly. Downtown Juneau boasts dozens of art galleries, which participate in the monthly First Friday Gallery Walk.

The Juneau Lyric Opera ^* and Opera to Go are Juneau's two opera companies. JLO produces fully-staged operas in English and Italian and sponsors two annual choral workshop festivals.

Famous Juneau artists include violinists Linda and Paul Rosenthal, Sopranos Kathleen Wayne and Joyce Parry Moore, indie rocker Rory Merritt Stitt, folk musician and renaissance man Buddy Tabor, and painters David Woodie and Barbara Craver.

Media

Juneau's only daily newspaper is the Juneau Empire.^*

Juneau is also served by television and radio. Juneau's major television affiliates are KTOO (PBS), KATH-LP (NBC/UPN) and KJUD (ABC)-(KIMO retransmission).

Leading radio stations include AM Stations KJNO 630 and KINY 800. FM Stations include public radio station KTOO 104.3, the adult contemporary franchises KFMG "Magic" 100.7 and KSRJ "Star" 102.7, country music station KTKU 105.1 ("Taku 105"), KSUP 106.3, and the freeform LPFM station KBJZ 94.1.

Schools

Colleges and universities

University of Alaska Southeast

Trivia

A large bronze statue featuring pelicans, intended for delivery to the State of Florida, stands in front of the Federal Building in Juneau. Pelicans are not indigenous to the State of Alaska; the proper artwork (an eagle) was delivered to Florida by mistake.
In 2005, the cruise ship industry was estimated to bring nearly one million visitors to Juneau
Juneau was the 49th most lucrative US fisheries port by volume and 45th by value taking in 15 million pounds of fish and shellfish valued at 21.5 million dollars in 2004 according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Professional Basketball Player and Duke University alumnus Carlos Boozer was raised in Juneau and attended Juneau-Douglas High School.
Juneau is larger than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which is itself contains 78 cities.

References

External links

Alaska boroughs | Cities in Alaska | Juneau City and Borough, Alaska | Micropolitan areas of Alaska | 1881 establishments

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