The 4th Avenue Theatre is the iconic downtown building, located in the heart of historic 4th Avenue. The Theatre currently lacks a tenant and fell victim to vandalism over the past winter. In order to help put a brighter face on this icon of downtown until a new tenant can be found for the building, Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd. worked with local photographers and the University of Alaska to compile historic photos of the Theatre and 4th Avenue that could be blown up into larger than life murals covering the previously boarded-up doors and windows.

The finished mural project, printed and co-sponsored by Graphic Works, is already a huge hit along 4th Avenue. Sponsors of the mural project include: Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd., Peach Investments LLC, Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, Polar Bear Gifts, Anchorage City Trolley Tours, and MA’s Gourmet Dogs.

Click here to view photos of the mural project.

We still have no idea what the future holds for the Theatre, but for now it has a much more pleasant face!

Take a page out of the Snow City book and see what kind of neighborly promotions you can cook up for your business.

They closed their doors abruptly in 2007 but have since returned to downtown — and in an equally quick fashion!

Wings ‘N Things, the perennial favorite for connoisseurs of spicy wings, was founded by Joe and Teresa Connelly in the mid-1980s. These deep-fried wings have seared the taste buds of countless wing fanatics over the years, and their departure from downtown was a real loss for our hungry community.

But as luck would have it, they returned to downtown in a more central location on 6th Avenue across from Town Square!

Soon you will be able to have your cake and eat it too! Opening next to the 4th Avenue Theatre soon…

And the chilling story from by Wayne Mergler about a familiar Downtown landmark entitled “Letter From AK: The Haunted Bookshop Revisited.”

And finally, an intoxicating story by NPR’s Annie Feidt entitled “Craft Beer In A Can? A Gutsy Move Is Paying Off.”

Clever ad featuring a mash-up of classic fashion and classic Alaska.

It’s great to see the large exterior walls of the 5th Avenue Mall better utilized. The faux windows have never really been all that impressive, to me at least. I think this new ad gives the building a touch of class. I can’t wait to see what the building looks like when the days get shorter and they fire up the exterior lights.

There’s one Russell original that I had never seen before: on the wall of Senator Johnny Ellis’s office in Downtown Anchorage. This comedic piece depicts people leaving a performance at the PAC, snow melting in Town Square, and misguided skateboarders. It’s quite humorous. If you ever have an occasion to visit the Downtown Anchorage office of Senator Ellis, take a minute or two to discover the details of this classic Russell masterpiece:

E Street, as you recall, was one of the streets getting a makeover this past summer with new pedestrian amenities and – most importantly – heating elements to keep the sidewalks ice-free.  The project was not completed, however, before the first snow fall, so they had to fence it off and shut it down for the winter.

Luckily, the city was able to get it opened back up so that people no longer have to drive down to B Street before being able to turn north off of 6th Avenue.  It’s only one car width wide and it’s not paved, but opening E Street is really a smart thing to do for getting around downtown over the winter:

And, in related news, we recently received a Christmas card from CRW Engineers, part of the team that worked on the design of the E Street improvements. I got a chuckle out of it:

And the inside: