Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
These circa 1959 scenes filmed in and near downtown Fairbanks, Alaska, show a modern "Golden Heart City" during winter and summer, with the First National Bank temperature sign reading -8F and then 80F (or maybe 90F?) Sites in downtown Fairbanks include the Polaris Building, the Northward Building, the Lacey Street Theatre, Cooper’s Hardware, the A1 record shop, and the Model Cafe, as well as the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in its Second Avenue location at the Lathrop Building. In a nearby neighborhood, kids ride their bikes while a man mows the lawn.
The following student research related to one of the scenes in this film was provided in 2026 by a University of Alaska Fairbanks undergraduate within the Honors College:
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner traces its origins to 1903, and has changed ownership many times, persevering through many setbacks. According to the 1980 book “Adventures in Alaska Journalism Since 1903," the Fairbanks Fire of 1906 destroyed the paper's press. In 1907, the owner, E.T. (Elbridge Truman) Barnette, was accused of embezzlement connected to the Fairbanks bank, and it was revealed he had been previously convicted of larceny. In 1922, when oil was found mixed in with the ink and a fire was set in its office, the new publisher, W.F. Thompson, reported the paper had been sabotaged due to its stance on local issues. In 1957, the Lathrop Building on Second Avenue, home of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, again caught on fire, but managed to still produce a paper that same day. After moving out of the Lathrop Building to the new Aurora Building along Illinois Street, the paper's facilities were flooded in the 1967 Fairbanks flood, halting production for a time. Despite this, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner still publishes today, now through a website as well.
Source & Format
Color, silent, 16mm film
Machetanz Collection (AAF-1135)
Alaska Film Archives
Repository
The Alaska Film Archives is a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Contact
If you have additional information or can help further identify what’s seen here, we welcome your insights. Please contact us using the information in the “About” section.
Support the Alaska Film Archives
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Donations of any amount help us preserve and share Alaska’s audiovisual history. Visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help. Thank you!
These circa 1959 scenes filmed in and near downtown Fairbanks, Alaska, show a modern "Golden Heart City" during winter and summer, with the First National Bank temperature sign reading -8F and then 80F (or maybe 90F?) Sites in downtown Fairbanks include the Polaris Building, the Northward Building, the Lacey Street Theatre, Cooper’s Hardware, the A1 record shop, and the Model Cafe, as well as the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in its Second Avenue location at the Lathrop Building. In a nearby neighborhood, kids ride their bikes while a man mows the lawn.
The following student research related to one of the scenes in this film was provided in 2026 by a University of Alaska Fairbanks undergraduate within the Honors College:
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner traces its origins to 1903, and has changed ownership many times, persevering through many setbacks. According to the 1980 book “Adventures in Alaska Journalism Since 1903," the Fairbanks Fire of 1906 destroyed the paper's press. In 1907, the owner, E.T. (Elbridge Truman) Barnette, was accused of embezzlement connected to the Fairbanks bank, and it was revealed he had been previously convicted of larceny. In 1922, when oil was found mixed in with the ink and a fire was set in its office, the new publisher, W.F. Thompson, reported the paper had been sabotaged due to its stance on local issues. In 1957, the Lathrop Building on Second Avenue, home of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, again caught on fire, but managed to still produce a paper that same day. After moving out of the Lathrop Building to the new Aurora Building along Illinois Street, the paper's facilities were flooded in the 1967 Fairbanks flood, halting production for a time. Despite this, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner still publishes today, now through a website as well.
Source & Format
Color, silent, 16mm film
Machetanz Collection (AAF-1135)
Alaska Film Archives
Repository
The Alaska Film Archives is a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Contact
If you have additional information or can help further identify what’s seen here, we welcome your insights. Please contact us using the information in the “About” section.
Support the Alaska Film Archives
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Donations of any amount help us preserve and share Alaska’s audiovisual history. Visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help. Thank you!
