Fairbanksans gather to say goodbye to Fairview Manor as demolition begins
Published Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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FAIRBANKS — Monday marked the end of an era in Fairbanks as locals gathered to witness the demolition of Fairview Manor, a housing complex that has served the Fairbanks community for more than five decades.
If the walls of Fairview Manor could talk, they might whisper secrets of long-passed tenants and days when asbestos wasn’t seen as harmful and lead paint was slathered on walls.
Trees surrounding the property might talk of the day Howard Hughes landed his Lockheed 14 airplane as a stop along his trip around the world or of the Alaska Airlines plane that called the former Weeks Field runway — the site of Fairview Manor — home some 70 years ago.
Former carpenters of the original 1951 project were there to reminisce about the complex. Fire Marshal Ernie Misewicz even took a few photos to remember an infamous fire at 40 below where firemen fought flames and froze to save the property.
“It’s real progress to see another building come up in its place that will be structurally sound and safe,” Misewicz said. “It would’ve cost more to bring this up to speed than to tear it down and build something new.”
Councilman Chad Roberts passed on historical tidbits about Weeksfield on Monday morning, almost as if he were reading the building’s obituary.
“This marks a significant day in Fairbanks’ history,” said Roberts as he began his speech.
Roberts mentioned the property was named after John Weeks, Secretary of War under Presidents William Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
The Arctic Bowl now sits inside old hangars from the airfield that was home to passenger and cargo planes.
Recently, volunteers cleaning up Vallie Byrdsong’s home even found old concrete boulders hidden beneath her lawn that were used to tie down the planes more than 50 years ago.
In the late 1940s, the city limits of Fairbanks didn’t even cover the entire property of Weeksfield. Through annexation, Fairbanks was able to take over the airfield, which was replaced in 1951 by a housing complex for military families.
As local Air Force and Army bases expanded, the property opened up to the public and became an affordable housing complex.
Fifty-seven years later, residents are still calling the complex home — but not for much longer.
The destruction of the first of four buildings was an exciting event, but not everyone in the audience was happy to see the decrepit structure fall.
Jaclyn Jensen was fighting back tears as the excavator — resembling an angry dinosaur with a giant claw — tore away at the corner of the building, scraping away the old blue exterior wall.
Jensen was born and raised in a Fairview Manor apartment and has called it home for more than 18 years.
“It was old when I was born, sure, but it’s been here forever,” Jensen said as she tried to hold back tears.
“It’s easy for everyone to gawk at the old things, but you really have to live here to love it and understand it,” she said, “It’s what you do on the inside to make it a home that matters.”
Jensen was accompanied by family member Billy Jensen, a mother of three who also has fond memories of the complex.
“One of my favorite memories was playing hide and seek in the hallways when we were kids,” Billy Jensen said.
The Jensens weren’t the only one sharing fond memories of the old building.
Charles Bettisworth of the Weeksfield Development Group grew up across the street and remembers trick-or-treating in Fairview Manor.
“There was certainly an advantage because of the heated indoor hallways and we didn’t have to go far for candy,” Bettisworth said.
Bettisworth is playing a key role in taking down his beloved candy haven as principal architect of the project that will replace Fairview Manor — Weeks Field Estates and Raven Landing senior center.
The men and women behind the project, including members from the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, the Rasmuson Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank and the City of Fairbanks, congratulated one another after several years of planning and fundraising to get the project going.
Nadine Winters, presiding officer of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, spoke on behalf of the Rasmuson Foundation’s Board of Directors.
“This investment demonstrates the need for quality affordable housing and today we are getting rid of something that we can all agree is not quality,” Winters said.
Others echoed similar sentiments.
“This airfield has seen quite a transformation from the 1967 flood to bursting at the seams during the pipeline construction, and it’s clear this place has seen better days and needs to be replaced,” said Dan Fauske, executive director and CEO of Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.
Demolition will be ongoing during the next few days. The next phase, though late in construction season, is to build 20 units of market-price senior housing that will be the first element of the Raven Landing project.
Community Discussion
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Its not going to be the same when I drive past Fairveiw now. I used to live there when I was a kid. But the buildings are old and need to be torn down, I remember a few apartments there that were haunted even!! I cant imagine how many people once called that place home.....kinda sad.
Weeks Field
Itsnotalloneword
Dont stop at the one building
Tear them all down and put something decent in its place
I agree. Those apartments were a dive and an eyesore for Fairbanks.
Good Riddance!
ahhh the smell of fresh urine in the morning. i used to deliver pizza for kurani inc and dreaded going there because of the access inder each building was a urinal for the transients. whoo hooo it is going away.
You forgot one thing in the second paragraph. If those walls could talk they could tell us about drugs, and theft, and assault, and all kinds of wonderful things. Good riddance.
I never witnessed something so beautiful in my life. Fairview Manor finally being torn down. Hooray!
yay!
Looking at the News-Miner photos of the demolition one sees dust in the air... That dust likely has asbestos from the old drywall mud- and other things like pipe insulation. Those who breathed that dust- if it contained asbestos, have just increased their chance of getting lung cancer.
Maybe the News-Miner could report about the asbestos mitigation plan for these old buildings? What was the asbestos content of the drywall mud? Why was no one wetting down the release of dust?
Tearing down old buildings requires thoughtful consideration about these sorts of issues. Lead mitigation plans... ensuring toxic materials are not dumped in unapproved landfills... that the toxic dust is not spread into the air during transport to a landfill.
Yeah, it gets complicated, but so is Mesothelioma.
yea..i can agree with the "good riddance" that place NEEDED to be torn down..FINALLY!!
I remember living in Fairview Manor when my wife, our first son, Aaron, and I moved to Fairbanks. It was all we could find and all we could afford. We brought our second son, Ben, home to Fairview Manor just months later. Some of our first friends in Fairbanks were our Fairview Manor neighbors and we've kept up with a number of them for more than 30 years. Sure, it wasn't four star. And, even though the walls were so thin you could clearly hear your neighbor's TV and the kitchen table wobbled incurably, it was warm and dry. We didn't stay very long but 30 plus years later, I'd drive by and show our grandchildren where Gramma and I lived when we first set foot in Fairbanks. I'd bet there are a lot of stories like ours. It wasn't all we ever hoped for but it was a start. It's time to move on, I guess. The old place fell on hard times over the years and there are more and better options for new immigrants to Fairbanks. But, we'll not forget apartment 2C2 as our first home in this wonderful community.
i am so happy that place is going away. Every day there would be cops there. That place was a dump. i guess the only thing it has that was good was the free cable with rent. Oh and free internet across the road at the library. Does anyone know if they are going to build new ones or just leave it.
RalphS.. That is an awsome story it is great to hear all the lifes that have started in those buildings. Did you ever think when living there that one day you would be as successful as you are today, maybe those humble beginnings lead to your understanding of lifes struggles. Things like that are what build character.
Those of you asking if they are going to build new ones, do you read this site ever? there have been plenty of stories about what they are building in its place. It may have been an eyesore and a 'scary' place but to those who need a cheap place because they are barely making it, it was acceptable. There are buildings going in for lower class and senior citizens, so hopefully it will remain low-income housing but managed better so it doesn't end up like Fairview another 30 years from now.
Wonder what they will do to get HUD money with out Uncle Ted. The first building phase may be the last of the building phase. Just glad they didn't put up another fast food store there.
Can we say LOW INCOME HOUSING!!!! BYE BYE!!!
11801N,
My thoughts exactly about asbestos in the dust as the building is torn down. But hey, this is Alaska, so federal and state regulations can be ignored, and the people are immune from environmental hazards, so long as they don't care about them.
Peace out, homies!
So where are all the crack dealers going to go? So sad...
I heard all of the residents are moving into wife228's neighborhood.
If you look closely, the "dust" you see is actually the hose stream (in between the 2 dozers) from the fire department that was on scene wetting down the structure as it came down, mitigating the dust and debris particles as much as possible.
Enough nay saying.
I would like to know more about what is going up in it's place and when. I want to contact the company so I can hopefully be one of the first tennants in there. Anyone have any info?
Funny how such a place can tug at the memory. It isn't Fairview itself I would miss, but the realization that most of the people and places from my childhood are no longer there.
I just love the smell of asbestos in the morning...
for the bad tenants, you should blame a slum lord who chose not to keep the property. I'm sure those buildings could have been kept up and their tenants to a higher standard.
About time they got rid of that horrid place. Hopefully, the new senior housing will be wonderful! (And affordable..) :)
Excellent. Now maybe they can build a elevated walkway to the Shopper's Forum Mall too. That would be nice for the Library and the elder facility - and maybe for the low-income renters. (whatever)
The contractor did extensive asbestos abatement. The amount of friable asbestos from broken sheet rock is small not to mention the wrong size of particles to be unhealthy. The asbestos was and is hauled in covered trucks to the containment cell at the landfill. The lead based paint was handled in much the same manner but to a lesser extent. Fairview is old but not quite old enough for lead based paint to have been widely used. I was acutely more concerned with the pigeon dung. Pigeons are flying rats and spread respiratory diseases and Fairview was packed with them. Hey there is no way to work in a vacuum and I think they are doing a great job. Long past time too. Oh and the fire wasn’t at 40 below it was a balmy 56 below….I frostbit my cheeks and ears.
They should have been deemed historical landmarks with so much history.
Tearing them down, what a loss.
funny how something about this was posted about a month ago...
I made a comment about the crack dealers and smell of pee and how the cops are always there with some problem... and how I thought the buildings were all trash.
And then I was ridiculed for it saying that, and was told I wasn't open minded. haha... And today majority of the comments are negative. So I guess I wasn't so wrong to begin with. Nasty buildings!
I agree about the asbestos and lead paint. Does anybody know what measures were taken to make sure that it would be safe and environmentally friendly?
thanks seanwhite I was posting as you posted so my question came after your answer...
RalphS what a great story, thank you for sharing. I am glad though that someone is tearing it down "right here, right now" ;) and putting up something that will be helpful to the seniors of our community.
mind you yes Fairveiw has a bad reputation and the residents were not always the greatest i am sure but where will they go? Do you people know how hard it is to find a place that allows pets AND has util included?
Yes I agree something needed to be done but its sad that this town is so about tearing down the past They are tearing down alot more than a building but they are tearing down history.... they are doing that all over town as well not just here... Any of Samson's hardware faithful shoppers know that they are on the chopping block as well they are going to tear down that whole area... except the Big I so that a bridge can go in its place. The building is over 100 years old and they are tearing it down like its nothing. As for Samson hardware.....what happens if they can't find a new place to rent/lease they will just stop to exist?? History gone.... did you know that even the tourists come into Samsons just to see it? I think personally that somethings should be reconsidered. I know progress and time make it much needed but still what a shame!
I had some good (drug free) times there in my childhood, it USED to be a decent place to live and I think it has served its purpose well.
If the city allowed companies to tear asbestos contaminated buildings down with no precautions (as mentioned in the comments above) then they would have torn the polaris building down long ago.
Sybil alert
Sybil, (multi id's online @ once), why do you have multiple personalities in discussions?
A T-bone steak will eventually be a turd.
There are parts about the interior of AK that I enjoy, but Fairbanks isn't one of them. There is a lot more that needs to be torn down in Fairbanks to make it appealing to me besides those scary, ghetto apartments. I felt sorry for the children that had to live there, because of parents that couldn't afford it elsewhere. I have never seen such a dirty, depressing city in my life. I really don't know what the appeal is and I'm dumbfounded that tourists are actually bused around Fairbanks. I'd want a refund!
when i was 13 we lived at fairview manor, and i had a job, before school, at lathrop high, to punch the flus and fill the stoker boxes for 3 or 4 furnaces for fairview...it's hard still for me to believe
i'd get up at about 5:30 go do the flus and stokers (fill the hoppers with coal) then go home, shower and be at school at around 8:30 if i remember right...then later after i got married, my wife and i lived
in fairview manor too with our two new babies...eventually bought a little house on aurora drive for $25,000, 2bd, 1ba which ended up with 52 inches of water in the big flood we had in the sixties, oh yes, i was one of 'em, and my wife living at the university during the flood and filling sandbags to protect the university power plant...hello to all my old friends, mike stalsby
Everyone is so excited about the destruction of these buildings. I agree that the buildings were old and needed to be eliminated, but I am sorry that people don't ever seem to appreciate the historical significance that these buildings once represented for Fairbanks. I have lots of good memories of many visits to various apartments visiting friends. I regret that no portion will be saved at ALL for posterity. I am also sorry that the reputation of this complex has so degraded. I will miss what they represented. Now that they will be gone - and we see the action of destruction no longer just discussion, how about some positive things to say about it? Let's all think "Jo Ann Wold" thoughts - A this ole' house reminiscence? What happen to the days when things were built to last? Now it's always tear it down! Tear it down! C'mon, people! Those buildings represent HISTORY! Now that they are gone remember what they originally were established for. Fairview manor had a purpose for national security and thereafter were utilized in a good way. Don't forget that!
I remember Jo Ann Wold. Remarkable person. Fairview manor was my first apartment. Hey, when one is 20 and it's your first place it's awesome! LOL I remember the parties and the cops showing up there. Then many years after growing up and comming home for a visit. I drove by them and thinking when are they going to tear down them poor old buildings. They did there deed now it's time for the new. Goodbye Fairview Manor goodbye.
Wooo Hooo, I can't wait till the last stick is hauled out from the last unit and the holes are filled in. I'm sure the crime rate will be way down in that area for a long time after they are finished with the demolition.
I remember I almost rented a place in C building but opted out for a place in North Pole. Two weeks later, the big fire started directly under that very same apartment I almost moved into. I never really did like the places but they were home to a lot of folks. Some hated them, some loved them, all were warm in the winter tho. I had no idea of the historical significance of them tho. Glad to see them go, what an eyesore.
When I first came to Fairbanks, the place had already acquired its bad reputation. From the comments here and from conversations with long-timers and Fairbanks-born folk, I understand there was quite a bit of wonderful history to Fairview. I would be interested to read a DNM article about these buildings: what they were like when they were built, who they housed, why they are significant, and how they came to be in the condition they are (were) in the last ten (or more?) years. How did something that was apparently so good go rotten?
The "roaches" will merely find new homes.
hope that they dont settle in my neighborhood!
I can remember jokeing about the place we use to call it robyouview manor because food delivery people would get rob there it got to the point people would not deliver there anymore.
I lived there for a few months 8 years ago, couldn't wait to move out. The hallways smelled like pot and every night I would go to sleep with the sound of the guy that lived below yawning. I remember running thru the down stairs hallways as a kid probably not the safest thing to do since anyone could have rape or murdered us without anyone knowing. aaah memories.
Good Riddance
what about those scary storages that was on the bottom floor.....
gatun_girl if you don't like it here GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!!!!
I am glad the buildings are going down and I feel sorry for the families who are loosing their homes yeah they were scary and I never stepped foot on the property alone or after dark but for a lot of people it's all they can afford if you don't know it's hard as hell to make it up here, you do what you have to and live where you can afford to.
Gatun_girl Fairbanks may not be glitz and glamor but it's a town where people still stop and help one another and give a damn about their neighbors, we support our local companies and have not forgotten that people are human and a mans name is still his honor.
we are a growing community with lots of history, maybe you should stop turning your nose up in the air and look beyond the "ghettoness"
and learn a little something while your "stuck" here.
Well said alaskanangel!!! If gatun_girl doesnt like our town, she can get the hell out of it!!! She has no right to diss our town!!
I'm dissing your town? I think you and other Fairbanksians diss your town every day because of the obvious lack of pride that's shown in this town when it comes to it being clean. Yes, the people are friendly, but have some pride in your surroundings.
Fairbanks *is* a dirty, dingy town that has a definite mean streak. We are not as nice and as 'homey' as we like to imagine (to be fair, this is true of a lot of cities). So, while I think Gatun_girl is laying it on a little strong, she has a good point. Besides, telling someone to shut up and leave is just plain dumb--she has her right to speak her mind. One can live somewhere and simultaneously not like it.
Ralph S- Do you know the difference between slander, malice and the truth? I can say the truth anywhere. I am glad that you can remember living at Fairview Manor 30 years ago. I also find it nice that some of the people that lived with you there you still stay in touch with. What is too bad is that you lost touch with, say, getting an honest deal. If I was you I would look back at those times fondly too, back when you didn't sell vehicles to people that you know where totaled in accidents that your employees where in. Back before you sold those vehicle as brand new and had the person who caused the accident pay for it while your body shop and mechanics did the work and billed part of it as warranty repair. Before you sold that vehicle as brand new, offering false collateral to the bank (as a third party representing their interest through your loan dept), the purchaser, and the purchasers insurance agency. Back before you pick and chose who you told that car was damaged to and sold it to your family friend and ex employee who knew the vehicle was wrecked, something not told to the first buyer.
I am sure that I can verify and prove what I say, I have and have shown it to you. Your exact words, correct me if I am wrong, where "I wrote that law son, do you hear me? I wrote that law!" (referring to the full disclosure law)
Anyway, I hope you remember those days back when you might have had morals at Fairview fondly. I personally turn away and hear the same thing; your first and only concern in your life has always been you and yours. Sleep good with your character and content. I do.
gatungirl hasn't been very many places if she has never "seen such a dirty, depressing city in my life".
I agree with the other posters- GO AWAY if you do not like it, there are plenty of unnecessary people like you living here, not appreciating Alaska for what it is and wanting to change everything YOUR WAY-
"There is a lot more that needs to be torn down in Fairbanks to make it appealing to me".- lol, from the midwest perhaps?
Thanks Tom54. I love Alaska, but I would need to live in a place where there is pride. I don't care about shopping or chain resaurants, or commercialized things to do. I care about taking pride in a community by having it reflected in cleaning up. Get those abandoned cars, trailers, trash out of your yard, plant some flowers, finish your house, etc. Hopefully Fairbanks will be pretty some day.
Actually LostAlaskan, I grew up overseas in a 3rd world country, where there was true poverty. But unlike people in Fairbanks, they were truly poor, poor, poor, so really didn't have a choice in their surroundings. I have been and lived very many places in my life, so I feel I can pass judgement on what I see because I've seen a lot to compare it too, and within the United States, Fairbanks is the dirtiest and most depressing city that I'VE seen. Are there any other cities out there that are worse? Probably so. Like I mentioned in an earlier posting, Alaska is beautiful and I really enjoy it, but Fairbanks is not beautiful and could be. But the true locals obviously like it just the way it is or it would have changed, but that is okay. That is why people just like you, Lost Alaskan, and a few of your cohorts, fit right in with the "trash" of your surroundings.
and the girls are just as trashy and dirty as the fairview manor buildings that got torn down!! lol
gatun_girl if your going to judge people be prepared to be judged ........ yes I do agree fairview was a smelly nasty place and it did out live its purpose . anther thing if you want to plant flowers and beautify fairbanks start a committee or you can call our visitors convention center maybe you can get some good ideas from them to make our CITY MORE BEAUTIFUL then you can help and not hinder .
booboobear- Too add to that, there is the Fairbanks Downtown Beautification committee, Weed and Seed, The Downtown Association, Fairbanks Neighborhood Housing, and any other civic group that gets out and volunteers from the gardening clubs to the 4H. Get involved, they all need volunteers!
thanks for the info i just might do that .....mmmm.. now i wonder if gutan_girl will take your advice
Gatun_girl - you have an ugly attitude and sound pretty trashy yourself. What are you doing to beautify our city? Nothing is my guess, just sitting around passing judgment. If you were as well traveled as you claim you would probably be better mannered and a tad more tactful. The beauty of the internet/blog/comment section is you can pretend to be anything you want.
Folks are going to have different memories of the Fairview, it's been around a long time. Wether bad or good it was time for them to go. The only real constant is change.
has anyone been in the northward lately?
curious about the condition the old building in is now.
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