Oscar Anderson House Museum

The Oscar Anderson House, constructed in 1915, is one of the oldest homes in Anchorage, and is the only House Museum located in Anchorage.

Oscar Anderson, by his own account, was the 18th person to arrive in the “Tent City” at Ship Creek in early 1915. Anderson was an active business leader in early Anchorage having interests in meat packing, coal production, air transportation, and newspaper publishing.

In 1976, Elizabeth Anderson, Oscar’s widow, donated the house to the Municipality of Anchorage. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. After an extensive restoration between 1978 and 1982 the Oscar Anderson House was turned into a museum.

Today, through a partnership with the Municipality of Anchorage, the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation, Inc. (AAHP) operates the Oscar Anderson House Museum.

The Oscar Anderson House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, for its architectural significance and for Oscar Anderson’s role in the development of early Anchorage.

The Oscar Anderson House is a National Trust for Historic Preservation “Distinctive Destination.”

Exhibits

Visiors will find the house as if the Anderson family had just left to run an errand. The Oscar Anderson House Museum is a popular stop for visitors and local residents. Our museum manager provides guided tours of the house. It is a two story house. The guided tours include the upstairs bedrooms.

Participation in Museum Day is open to any tax-exempt or governmental museum or cultural venue on a voluntary basis. Smithsonian magazine encourages museum visitation, but is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of the participating museums and cultural venues, and does not subsidize museums that participate.