Sneak peek inside the Kashevaroff SLAM

In June, we shared some photos from inside the Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum. There have been a ton of changes since then, so we're pleased to share the progress with you!

The boards have been removed and the copper panels on the front are being installed. The exterior of SLAM is nearly complete and most of the work is happening inside.

The main entrance off Whittier Street leads into the atrium. The Museum galleries are on the left.

A very large map of Alaska will be laid into the floor of the atrium. The latitude and longitude lines for the map are being set now.

The outlines of the map are drawn onto the floor. This is a segment of southeast Alaska.

Inside the museum, exhibit pieces and large objects from the Alaska State Museum collections are being installed.

The Clan House will be home to the exhibits about southeast Alaska Native cultures. It's wrapped in plastic to protect it from construction dust and damage.

All of the boards on the Clan House were adzed by hand. It's such hard work that three people dropped out of the adzing team, leaving one woman to complete most of the project herself.

Alaska's other Native cultures will be represented but are not installed yet. Around the corner, we entered the history galleries, which will include sections on the period of Russian colonization of Alaska in the late 18th- and early 19th-centuries, World War II in Alaska, Alaskan industries, and political history.

This is the base for the Fresnel lighthouse lens from Cape Spencer. Behind it is a photo mural of Alaska's first territorial legislature in 1913. It is a reproduction of a photograph from Alaska State Library Historical Collections, PCA 461-26.

This large photo mural is part of the mining section. It is a large reproduction of a photograph of the Chilkoot Trail from the Alaska State Library Historical Collections, PCA 87-707.

This big case is in the World War II section, where several of the mannequins I've been working on will live.

The sphere for the Science On A Sphere system looks like Humpty-Dumpty, waiting to be installed in its very own gallery, seen below.

The new Science On A Sphere gallery will accommodate Sphere-related programming and allow visitors to play with datasets.

This window looks from the atrium by the Eagle Tree into the conservation lab, where the conservator will repair and stabilize objects, so that visitors can observe the process in action.

The second level of the Kashevaroff SLAM will house the Alaska State Library, Historical Collections, and Alaska State Archives, as well as the administrative offices.

The wood panels in the ceiling of the Alaska State Library's Richard Foster Reading Room are being installed now.

Looking into the Reading Room from across the bridge, Walter Gordinier's glass pillars provide splashes of color in the walls.

Our office windows look down Gastineau Channel and at our neighbors in the Willoughby District, KTOO and the Prospector Hotel.

A window from the staff area looks out into the Historical Collections and Archives Research Room.

This very important space is the restroom. We're eagerly awaiting these because everyone working on the SLAM site is currently using port-a-potties.

The balcony area on the second floor allows visitors to look down into the atrium and view Gordinier's glass artwork and the Alaska map from a distance.

Back downstairs in the atrium, looking toward the main entrance from the Eagle Tree.

We're so excited to open the Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum. A big thanks to our project team at the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities and to PCL, who are busy making SLAM into a reality. We hope to see you all the grand opening next year!

Kashevaroff SLAM photo tour

Here's a sneak peek at the progress inside the Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum! SLAM staff have been touring the facility over the past few weeks and have photos to share.

Last weekend, artist Robert Murray's controversial sculpture Nimbus was installed on the site. Its distinctive green color really stands out on a gray day, and will be even more vibrant after it gets touched up by the artist and original fabricator this summer.

Nimbus (Alaska State Museum Collection ASM 91-1-1) in front of the Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum, June 26, 2015.

We walked in the main entrance on Whittier Street. The front facade of SLAM will be completed this fall when the boards are removed and copper panels are installed.

Inside the foyer, the eagle tree diorama will be straight ahead. Right now, only the trunk has been installed, but the exhibit will have eagles, a nest, and other specimens from the Alaska State Museum's collection. The white plastic sheeting on the left is where artist Walter Gordinier's large glass artwork, Glacier Pond, will be installed.

Eagle tree exhibit in the foyer.

The museum exhibit spaces are starting to take shape, and you can see where some of the exhibits will be installed, like the Clan House and the kids' Discovery Room.

The umiak that flew over the museum last summer will be exhibited on this gray metal frame. Visitors will be able to walk underneath the frame to see inside. The umiak is so large that this gallery will be constructed around it after it is installed.

The Baldwin locomotive (Alaska State Museum Collection ASM 2008-9-1) is the heaviest object that will be on exhibit. It was wheeled in on rails and has a specially reinforced pad in the floor to support it. It is the first museum object to be installed in the exhibit gallery.

This area will house the Bristol Bay Double Ender, a distinctive wooden fishing boat used in Bristol Bay. There's a mechanism overhead that will support the boat's mast, which will reach the ceiling. Historic video footage will be projected onto a replica sail, fabricated by Ketchikan sail-maker Louis Bartos.

Department of Transportation & Public Facilities Project Engineer Jennifer Pepin describes the Science-On-a- Sphere gallery. Behind her are the windows for SLAM's marquee.

The Library, Archives, and micrographics department will be located on the second floor. Visitors will be able to walk up the stairs around the eagle tree or take an elevator.

Stairway around the eagle tree exhibit. Photo by Amy Carney.

This space will house Central Micrographics Services. Currently housed on the 7th floor of the State Office Building, the micrographics department will have properly ventilated spaces for the work they do with chemicals.

The building was constructed around the tower crane that was recently dismantled. Now, those holes are being filled in. The floor of the second level has been filled and the ceiling will be sealed soon.

Construction workers cutting metal in the future Richard Foster Reading Room, new home of the Alaska State Library.

Work space for library and archives staff. The new work spaces will conform to the State of Alaska's Universal Space Standards.

View from the second floor out the front windows, where we started our tour.

To end the tour, we went down to the basement. Like all our neighbors in the Willoughby District, SLAM is required to provide parking. The garage will be open the same hours as the SLAM facility but the above ground parking will be available for evening events at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center or Centennial Hall.

There will be 63 parking spaces available under SLAM and 32 spaces on the grounds.

Entrance to the parking area and Willoughby Ave side of SLAM.

It's exciting to watch the progress on the SLAM site and to see our future home taking shape. The landscaping and exterior will be completed by early fall and PCL's construction crews will shift their focus toward the interior. We'll keep you updated until we open in spring 2016!

Learn more:

• Capital City Weekly article about eagle tree installation
• Capital City Weekly article about Nimbus reinstallation
• Juneau Empire article about umiak move into SLAM vault
• Juneau Empire photo of the tower crane being dismantled
• Ketchikan Daily News article about the Bristol Bay Double Ender, reprinted in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
• KTOO article and interview with Nimbus artist Robert Murray
• KTOO photos of tower crane being dismantled 
• KTOO piece on Nimbus' reinstallation
• Project SLAM website
• Walter Gordinier's website

Since You Asked! Episode 15: Juneau's Community and Economic Development

Librarian Julie Niederhauser talks with District 2 assembly member Karen Crane about the affordable housing shortage in the City and Borough of Juneau, the Willoughby Arts and Cultural District, Juneau's economic development, and the current state budget deficit. Julie also inquires about Karen's community service and the importance of participating in community.

Listen to Podcast (.mp3)
[ 20 minutes ]
Recorded on August 8, 2014

Learn more about....

• the Juneau Assembly, member contact info, and meeting minutes
• the Willoughby District Plan (PDF)