Lathrop Building

Austin ‘Cap’ Lathrop came to Alaska in 1896 as a captain of a schooner that ferried pros­pectors to Cook Inlet in Anchorage. Lathrop had an interest in the film industry and had a plan to open a chain of Empress theatres. He had theatres in Cordova, Anchorage and Fairbanks. He started a production company called Alaska Moving Company that produced “The Cheechakos,” the first feature length film shot entirely in Alaska. The film, completed in 1924 is said to have influenced Charlie Chap­lin’s “The Gold Rush” and has been added to the National Film Registry list.

He built the Lathrop building because he wanted to create the finest newspaper head­quarters in Alaska. The building housed the newspaper, his radio station, a basement bowling alley and two floors of apartments. Lathrop is also credited with building Alaska’s first commercial station KFAR, which is still on the air in Fairbanks.