Whittier, Alaska

2006 population of 117.

Mike's Whittier Forum: (great info and pics) whittierforum.yukontel.com
Official city website (unmaintained): www.ci.whittier.ak.us
Chamber of Commerce: www.whittieralaskachamber.org
Overview: www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CIS.cfm?Comm_Boro_N...

Whittier is a popular port of call for cruise ships, as it has connections to Anchorage and the interior of Alaska by both highway and rail. It is the embarkation/debarkation point of the Denali Express nonstop rail service to and from Denali National Park. Whittier is also the base of several day-cruise operators providing tours of Prince William Sound and the surrounding glaciers.

During World War II the United States Army constructed a port and railroad terminus near the Whittier glacier and named the port Whittier. The spur of the Alaska Railroad to Whittier was completed in 1943 and the port became the entrance for United States soldiers into Alaska. The port remained an active army facility until 1960.

Almost all of Whittier's residents live in The Begich Building - a converted military barracks. The city was severely damaged as a result of Tsunamis from the 1964 earthquake, and the former Buckner Building that housed most of the residents as a "city under one roof" was severely damaged and subsequently abandoned. The Buckner building was at the time the largest building in Alaska with 1,000 apartments, a hospital, bowling alley, theater, gym, swimming pool and shops. Due to excessive costs involved to tear down the Buckner building, it still stands abandoned today. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckner_Building