LifeAnchorage · September 1, 2026
the spenard windmill is gone
Half the Spenard windmill is sitting on the ground right now, and it is not headed for the dumpster.
Daily Alaska staff · September 1, 2026 · Anchorage
A crew sawed the top off the 60 foot windmill outside Chilkoot Charlie's, known locally as Koot's, on Spenard Road in Anchorage on Monday, August 24. General manager Doran Powell said the work is a repair, not a removal, and Anchorage planning and zoning staff are treating the windmill as a historical display while the project is underway.
Powell said the base needs structural work, the old neon lighting is being replaced with LED, and the job will take several months before the top goes back up. He said the work will be expensive and that Koot's plans to fundraise to cover the cost.
The windmill has never actually turned. It was never built to. It arrived in Anchorage in the 1960s as an advertising gimmick for a liquor store called the Kut Rate Kid. When that store closed in 1984, the windmill was moved down the road to Koot's.
It has stood on that corner for 42 years, used by generations of Anchorage residents as a landmark for giving directions in Spenard. This is the first time the top has come off since it arrived.
In this story
Questions people ask
when did they take down the top of the spenard windmill
A crew sawed off the top on Monday, August 24, for repairs that'll take several months.
is the spenard windmill being demolished
No, it's being repaired. General manager Doran Powell says the base needs structural work and the old neon is getting replaced with LED, then the top goes back on.
how much will it cost to fix the spenard windmill
Not yet public. Koot's plans to fundraise to cover it, and Powell says the work will be expensive, but the story doesn't give a figure.
why doesn't the spenard windmill spin
It was never meant to. It started in the 1960s as an advertising gimmick for a liquor store before being moved to Koot's in 1984, and it's stayed put ever since.
Evidence
Sources
Claims and where they come from
- A crew sawed the top off the 60 foot windmill outside Chilkoot Charlie's on Spenard Road on Monday, August 24. · adn.com
- General manager Doran Powell says the base needs structural work and the old neon is being replaced with LED. · adn.com
- The windmill arrived in Anchorage in the 1960s as a promotional gimmick for the Kut Rate Kid liquor store and was moved to Chilkoot Charlie's in 1984 after that store closed. · adn.com
- Anchorage planning and zoning staff are treating the windmill as a historical display during the work. · adn.com
Produced with AI assistance, narrated with Slav Lund's voice clone with his consent, and reviewed by a person before publishing. How we use AI →