Historic Anchorage Hotel/Club Paris

Historic Anchorage Hotel and Club Paris

For our anniversary this year my husband and I decided to spend the night at the Historic Anchorage Hotel, it is of course rumored to be haunted.

This quaint hotel was built in 1916; it began as a simple wooden structure and was turned into a luxury hotel in 1917 with the current building which was constructed as an annex opening in 1936. In 1964 the hotel survived the 9.2 magnitude Good Friday earthquake that left much of Anchorage in ruins.

Sadly overtime the hotel fell into disrepair but in 1989 new owners restored the hotel to its former glory. Today hotel guest report so many ghost sightings that the front desk keeps a log. One ghost that is said to haunt the hotel is Anchorage’s first police chief Jack Sturgis who on February 20, 1921 was found shot with his own gun just steps away from the hotel, he was then dragged to the hotel but quickly died, rumor has it that he returns every year on the anniversary of the still unsolved crime.

Richard and I checked into the hotel on the afternoon of our anniversary and were pleasantly surprised that we had been upgraded to a mini suite.  From the time we walked in our room Richard seemed to be charged, getting shocked every time he touched anything, I of course told him it was the spirits making their presence known. I often tease him about being a “nonbeliever” and he always tells me he is not a non-believer he just wants proof, so I told him that the spirts were giving him proof they were there.

Our room was large and nicely decorated; we had a nice view from the wall of windows looking out over downtown Anchorage. I was so impressed with this hotel and the staff that I was sorry we had not stayed there before, we will definitely go back.

For dinner that evening we made reservations at Club Paris. I love Club Paris; it is like stepping back in time when you walk in the door. It is the oldest steakhouse in Anchorage and is located in a building that was constructed in the 1920’s and was previously a funeral home, a furniture store and even a private residence, this building also survived the 1964 earthquake. Club Paris opened as a steakhouse in 1957and I don’t think much has changed since then. It is narrow, dark and old; every time we walk in I expect to see Al Capone sitting at a corner table, it gives off such a vibe of a historic mobster hang out to me.  It is fantastic, the ambiance, the service and the over the top delicious food make this one of my top choices for dinner out in Anchorage.

Some say Club Paris is haunted though I cannot find any documentation of ghost sightings in the building, I would image some spirits might still linger from days gone by after all it is a great place to spend an evening or perhaps and eternity.