Mike's Whittier Forum

Whittier is on the northeast shore of the Kenai Peninsula, at the head of Passage Canal. It is on the west side of Prince William Sound, 75 miles southeast of Anchorage. It lies at approximately 60° 46' N Latitude, 148° 41' W Longitude (Sec. 24, T008N, R004E, Seward Meridian). The community is located in the Anchorage Recording District. The area encompasses 12 sq. miles of land and 7 sq. miles of water.

Nearby Whittier Glacier was named for the American poet John Greenleaf Whittier, and was first published in 1915 by the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey. A port and railroad terminus were constructed by the U.S. Army for transport of fuel and other supplies into Alaska during World War II. The railroad spur was completed in 1943, and the Whittier Port became the entrance for troops and dependents of the Alaska Command. The huge buildings that dominate Whittier began construction in 1948. The Hodge Building (now Begich Towers) was built for Army bachelors quarters and family housing. The Buckner Building, completed in 1953, was once the largest building in Alaska, and was called the "city under one roof." The Port remained an active Army facility until 1960; at that time, the population was 1,200. The City was incorporated in 1969. The Begich Building is now a condominium, and house nearly all of Whittier's residents.

The strongest recorded earthquake occurred on March 27, 1964 -- on Good Friday. The quake and resulting tsunami killed 131 people. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred on March 24, 1989, another Good Friday. On Jan. 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state. (The 48th state was Arizona, which joined on Feb. 14, 1912. Hawaii became the 50th state on Aug. 21, 1959.)