GI history nugget: Construction of the Elvey Building
The C. T. Elvey Building on West Ridge was built between 1968 – 1970 to house the expanding Geophysical Institute. The 85,000-square-foot building cost $4.1 million to construct; the building's architect was Linn Forrest of Juneau and the contractor was Peter Kiewit Sons of Nebraska and Fairbanks.
The building was dedicated Sunday, May 18, 1969, following the university’s commencement ceremonies. Christian T. Elvey had been the director of the GI from 1952 to 1963. During the dedication ceremony, the plaque which now resides in the Elvey Building foyer was unveiled. In remarks that day, then GI Director Keith Mather noted that Elvey was commemorated on the plaque as astronomer, geophysicist and leader. “Distinction won in a single field of human endeavor is enough for most men,” Mather said. “Dr. Elvey won national and international tribute in all three.” Elvey died March 1, 1970, so he unfortunately never saw the completed building.
The main construction was put out to bid in May 1968. In the GI Annual Report 1967 – 1968, the building is described as “…a six-story, 100-foot-square structure with a basement and a one-story, 100 by 65-foot annex…,” located on the university’s West Ridge. Funding for construction came from the state of Alaska, National Science Foundation and the U.S. Office of Education. NASA was originally expected to be one of the contributors but was unable to do so, which led to one of the planned aeronomy floors being eliminated from the plans. Ultimately the building was constructed with seven floors, in a square donut shape with elevator shafts in the center.
When discussions began in 1986 to create the Alaska SAR Facility, the GI seemed the logical location. Because the Elvey Building’s foundations were originally designed and built to carry a load of eight floors, the concrete core was strong enough, with some additional concrete to provide a platform, to support the heavy 10-meter diameter steerable receiving antenna. It was in place on Elvey’s roof by 1989.
Staff and faculty moved from the Chapman Building into Elvey in March and April of 1970. A colorful mural on the wall of the covered breezeways encircling the building was painted largely by faculty and staff. Even director Mather took a turn with the paint brush.
Partly to celebrate completion of the building, the GI organized an inaugural symposium, “The Geophysics and Geology of the Bering Sea Region,” June 26 – 28, 1970, in Fairbanks. Coincidentally, the Second International Symposium on Arctic Geology was scheduled a few months later in San Francisco. “Contributions to the Geology of the Bering Sea Basin and Adjacent Regions” with selected papers from both symposia was published in 1975, edited by Robert B. Forbes of the GI.
In the preface Forbes says, “When our new Geophysical Institute Building was nearing completion, we felt that we were entering a new era at the University of Alaska and that a special event was in order. We decided to invite our Soviet, Japanese, and Canadian friends to the symposium.” The final volume included two papers that were read but not listed in the proceedings “because of the usual problems of transoceanic communication of abstracts” in those pre-electronic communication days.
“Many of us who participated in these two meetings had the feeling that we were entering into a new era of communication and understanding, and that the humanistic and professional affinities of Pacific rim geologists and geophysicists transcend all political boundaries,” Forbes concluded.