REFERENCE CODE: AkAMH

REPOSITORY NAME:
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center
Bob and Evangeline Atwood Alaska Resource Center
625 C Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 907-929-9235
Fax: 907-929-9233
Email: resourcecenter@anchoragemuseum.org

Guide prepared by: Sara Piasecki, Photo Archivist

TITLE: Alberta Pyatt Negative Collection

COLLECTION NUMBER: B2009.057

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: circa 1915

Extent: 32 negatives

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Alberta Pyatt

Administrative/Biographical History:
The life dates of Alberta Pyatt (née Bouthillier) are not currently known. Alberta worked as an
assistant to Sydney Laurence in his photography business, the Sydney Laurence Company, in
Anchorage, Alaska. Laurence was working under contract with the Alaska Engineering
Commission to photograph the early Anchorage town site and railroad construction, but it is not
clear which photos were taken under contract for the AEC and which are for Laurence’s own
studio. Pyatt’s extant photos include people, views, and activities from the Anchorage area
during the years 1915 and 1916.

Scope and Content Description:
The collection consists of 32 nitrate negatives, 3.5 x 5.5 in. or 2.75 x 4.5 in., depicting scenes in
and around Anchorage, Alaska, in 1915.

Arrangement:
Arrangement as received from donor.

CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE

Restrictions on Access: The collection is open for research use.


Physical Access: Original nitrate negatives are restricted access only. Digital scans are available
for viewing in the Atwood Resource Center.

Technical Access: No special equipment is needed to access the materials.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:
The Anchorage Museum is the owner of the materials and makes available reproductions for
research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Anchorage
Museum before any reproduction use. The Anchorage Museum does not necessarily hold
copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may
require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation:
Alberta Pyatt Negative Collection, Anchorage Museum, B2009.057

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information
Patricia Roppel donated the collection to the Anchorage Museum in 2009. The collection had
been given to her by Robert N. DeArmond.

Processing Notes
Negatives scanned and placed in freezer January 2012. Several show browning and/or spotting.

RELATED MATERIALS
Laurence-Pyatt Negative Collection, Anchorage Museum B1983.146
Augusta Pyatt Photograph Collection, 1915-1916, Alaska State Library PCA 76

SUBJECTS
Anchorage (Alaska)
Alaska Engineering Commission

Detailed Description of the Collection
 1 — Government Dock Anchorage, Alaska [Docks, storage buildings, cargo vessels, and small skiffs moored in and around the marshes of Anchorage]
 2 — [Several men working next to a barge erecting dock pilings at Ship Creek, Anchorage]
 3 — Aug 10th 1915 Anchorage, Alaska 5th Street [Swath of clear cut forest for the development of 5th Street with multiple log and tent structures]
 4 — [Several horse teams and men moving large tent structure in front of Pilger’s General Store and Seattle New and Second Hand] cf. 14, 19, 20
 5 — Fifth Avenue Anchorage, Alaska Sept 5th 1915 [Smoldering slash piles left over from the clearing of forest for the development of Fifth Avenue Anchorage, Alaska]
 6 — [A man on scaffolding in front of newly constructed drug store, Crocker Co. Mattress Factory]
 7 — [Water pipe with spigot gushing water in the middle of a forest clear cut with large barn like structure in background]
 8 — [Large crowd of people gathered in front of unknown building with American flag in background at half mast, North Side Lumber Co.] cf. 26, 30
 9 — [A man walking through clear cut with wood plank next to several wood and tent structures]
10 — [Anchorage Post Office in winter with several people walking by the front]
11 — [Several men working with pick axes next to railroad tracks clearing debris. Several large buildings in background]
12 — [Crowd gathered in a large field to watch a running race that is underway]
13 — July 4th, 1915 Anchorage Alaska [Crowd gathered on and around bleachers that are festooned with banners and American flags]
14 — [People watching horse teams moving large tent structure in front of Baxter’s News Depot] cf. 4, 19, 20
15 — Side-Hill Rubber Necks [A crowd sitting and watching an event of some kind]
16 — Shore Day [Cook Inlet and shore view with small ice bergs. Building structure in background, possibly Port of Anchorage]
17 — Anchorage Alaska [A view from the marsh at Ship Creek looking towards Anchorage’s tent city with Government Hill in the background]
18 — [Crowd watching baseball game. Catcher and base runner reacting to ball in play]
19 — A Good Start [Horse teams moving large tent structure in front of Baxter’s News Depot, Seattle New and Second Hand, Real Estate J.R. Krumm] cf. 4, 14, 20
20 — Whoa Boys [Horse teams moving large tent structure being restrained by handlers as small crowd looks on] cf. 4, 14, 19
21 — [Large group of people walking along street leaving the Ship Creek area, with automobile, telegraph poles and buildings in distance] cf. 25, 27
22 — Distant View of Anchorage [Newly clear cut area showing stumps with a large collection of wooden structures in the background]
23 — [A parade of men walking amongst stumps from a clear cut carrying banners, and American flags; banners read “Not Your Country But [?]”] cf. 29
24 — [A man standing on boardwalk in town, next to a striped pole]
25 — [People and horse drawn carriages leaving the Ship Creek area, with telegraph poles and buildings in distance] cf. 21, 27
26 — [Large crowd of people both sitting and standing gathered for an unknown event, North Side Lumber Co.] cf. 8, 30
27 — The Fans Home-ward Plod Their Weary Way [Large crowd of people walking up a hill leaving the Ship Creek area] cf. 21, 25
28 — Moving, Anchorage, Alaska [Two horses pulling wagon with men and walled tent]
29 — [A parade of men walking amongst stumps from a clear cut carrying banners, and American flag; banners read “Not Your Country But [?]”] cf. 23
30 — [Large crowd of people both sitting and standing gathered for an unknown event, North Side Lumber Co.] cf. 8, 26
31 — Sept 6th 1915 Anchorage, Alaska [Men working on railroad tracks amidst piles of debris]
32 — [Marching band parading down a street in Anchorage in front of Polley Bros. General Merchandise Store, B.C. Nichols, Montana Pool Room, and Brown & Hawkins] Guide written: January 20, 2012