Corner of Front & Seward

Corner of Front and Seward. Downtown Historic District. , The drug store on the corner was once the jewelry store of Emery Valentine. In addition to serving several terms as mayor and founding the Juneau Volunteer Fire Department, he built the elegant Queen Anne structure that housed his store and bears his name. The Valentine Building was completed in stages between 1904 and 1913. Inside, you still can see the original ceiling panels with gilded plaster moldings. Across Front Street is the much renovated C.W. Young Building. Its upper floor was pressed into service as an emergency morgue in 1918 when the steamship Princess Sophia ran onto Vanderbilt Reef and sank with a loss of 353 lives; the worst maritime disaster in Alaska's history., Three blocks uphill is Alaska's state capital complex including the capitol, courthouse, Alaska Office Building and State Office Building. A short distance beyond is the governor's residence., [Photo captions, top to bottom, read] , . A rare wide angle photo of this intersection taken around 1900. Mount Juneau can be seen in the background., . A later view of Front Street looking west showing the Valentine Building, Percy's, the Gross-Alaska Theater and the Hellenthal Building.