Sitka in Sitka Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
Tilson Building
Photographed by Alvis Hendley, May 16, 2011
1. Tilson Building Marker
Erected by Alaska Centennial Commission.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the National Historic Landmarks series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1835.
Location. 57° 2.979′ N, 135° 20.198′ W. Marker is in Sitka, Alaska, in Sitka Borough. It is on Lincoln Street east of Barracks Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 202-204 Lincoln Street, Sitka AK 99835, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Alaska, in Tlingit and Haida & Tsimshian Region. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, in the Inside Passage, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere.
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Ben Franklin Five and Dime (within shouting distance of this marker); Sitka Lutheran Church (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Michael's Cathedral (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Staton's Steakhouse and Cocktail Lounge (about 400 feet away); Wells Fargo Bank - The First Bank of Sitka (about 400 feet away); Story of a Hill (about 400 feet away); Sitka Woman's Club (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sitka.
Regarding Tilson Building. The Tilson Building is a National Historic Landmark and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as "Russian-American Building No. 29." The NRHP listing reads in part:
The town of New Archangel, now named Sitka, was the capital of Russia's American colonies. Building 29, which served as a residence for Russian-American Company employees, is the only surviving Russian-American Company
Photographed by Alvis Hendley, May 16, 2011
2. The Tilson Building Is Also Known As (Russian-American) Building No. 29
Historically, Building 29 was one of many massive log buildings with steeply pitched roofs which served the commercial and administrative needs of the Russian-American Company on this busy street leading up from the wharves. William Ball described the buildings of Sitka as they appeared in 1865, two years before the United States purchased Alaska: "The houses were all of logs, but painted a dull yellow, the metal roofs were red and with the emerald green spire of the church, projected against the dark evergreen of the adjacent hills, presented an extremely picturesque appearance. It was quite unlike anything else in America, and seemed to belong to a world of its own."
Because company life was communal, buildings were large to accommodate multiple living quarters, corporate kitchen, bakery, laundry, and storage facilities. Massive round logs were used for warehouses and common residences. Important company administrative buildings and officers' residences were hewn "so as to leave no crevices,
Photographed by Alvis Hendley, May 16, 2011
3. Tilson Building
AKA Russian-American Building No. 29
circa 1887
4. Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and the Russian-American Building No. 29
This 1887 photograph was submitted with the NRHP nomination form. The original photograph is in the collection of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 16, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 15, 2019, by Alvis Hendley of San Francisco, California. This page has been viewed 1,196 times since then and 50 times this year. Last updated on May 15, 2019, by Alvis Hendley of San Francisco, California. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 15, 2019, by Alvis Hendley of San Francisco, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
