Wednesday, July 18, 2018

THE IGLOO HOUSE

Every now and again I will be sharing photos we took on our Alaska trip back in May.  We saw a lot of interesting sights that intrigued me and I am sharing one of those today, The Igloo House, a four-story concrete structure built in the 1970's. 

It was pointed out to us on the tour bus as we were making our way from Seward to Alkeetna, on the George Parks Highway.  It is so large it can be seen by airplanes at 30,000 feet.  The igloo-shaped building was going to be a hotel, a premier Alaskan-style accommodation but it was never finished.  They ran into all kinds of building code violations, and it has sat abandoned for nearly half a century.  

The interior was never finished either, was once padlocked but no longer is as it was impossible to keep the curious from wandering in to explore. It passed through several owners but none of them were able to get it back to par.  How strange it is now a tourist attraction, as no guests have ever stayed there.  You can see more here. It also shows what it looks like inside.
You will find it 200 miles out of Anchorage, at the halfway point between Fairbanks and Anchorage (Alaska's two largest cities) on the south side of the Parks Highway at mile 214.5. 

26 comments:

  1. Sounds like an interesting place! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. What a waste, sad it has never been used. Have a good day Diane

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  3. wow, I looked at the inside and no wonder it is dangerous but it really is very interesting and cool..ha ha on the cool part... amazing is what it is

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    1. I would have enjoyed seeing the inside but my photos were taken as we drove by on the freeway.

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  4. It sounds as if some eager do it your selfer didn't plan ahead. I wonder what other things he imagined that were way off the normal.

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    1. I wonder too. Many owners tried their best but none of them could get it up to code.

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  5. I think that's the first I've heard of it. Very cool!

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  6. Wow!!! I loved going to your link and seeing more, too. The inside is massive, but so sad. I wish people would not have written graffiti on it! You would think that the original builders would have studied about the codes and such before they started on such a massive project. Being in front of the mountain really shows how big it is. But it does serve a good purpose now, just as a tourist attraction. It has been fun learning about it!

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    1. A lot of abandoned buildings seem to suffer the graffiti. For the enormity of the project I can’t imagine starting it without making sure it was 100 percent up to code. Glad you enjoyed learning of it Ginny. I did too.

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  7. An intriguing plan. I am surprised (and a tad sad) that it never came into fruition.

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  8. It is a pity that it was difficult to build this building to the end, because it looks very interesting. Regards.

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  9. Very interesting. The inside looks kind of like one of those huge cathedrals, someone's huge vision gone awry as has happened many times before.

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  10. Found this very ingteresting, Denise. Such a shame it was never finished.

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  11. Replies
    1. Many have tried apparently. No one has been able to get it up to code.

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  12. Hi Denise,
    What a wonderful building to visit, it does seem such a shame for it not to be in use.
    All the best, John

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    1. It does indeed. I bet it would have been smashing. Well, maybe someone will come along and succeed where others couldn’t. Let’s hope.

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