PoliticsAnchorage · July 9, 2026
old city hall becomes a library
An 80-year-old downtown Anchorage landmark is about to become a public library.
Daily Alaska staff · July 9, 2026 · Anchorage
Old City Hall, an 80-year-old building on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage, is being converted into a new downtown branch of the Anchorage Public Library. Construction is set to begin this summer, with doors expected to open in early 2027. The library will occupy the ground floor, in a space currently used by Visit Anchorage.
The renovation is funded by a $2.5 million COVID relief grant approved by the Alaska Legislature. That grant expires at the end of 2026 if it isn't spent, which is driving the timing to start construction now.
Money to operate the new library will come from a trust held by the Anchorage Library Foundation, now worth more than $7 million. The trust was bequeathed by longtime Anchorage resident Janet Goetz, who specified that the funds support a downtown library serving residents, workers, and visitors.
The project turns a long-standing downtown landmark into a public amenity, decades after Goetz's bequest first set the plan in motion.
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- Old City Hall's ground floor, currently used by Visit Anchorage, will become a new downtown branch of the Anchorage Public Library · alaskasnewssource.com
- The renovation is funded by a $2.5 million COVID relief grant approved by the Alaska Legislature that expires at the end of 2026 if unspent · alaskasnewssource.com
- The library's operating funds will come from a trust held by the Anchorage Library Foundation worth more than $7 million, bequeathed by Janet Goetz · alaskasnewssource.com
- Construction is expected to begin this summer and the library is expected to open in early 2027 · alaskasnewssource.com
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