Statehood Monument, Anchorage, Alaska

This monument, at Ship Creek Overlook in Anchorage, commemorates Alaska's admission to the Union as the 49th state in 1959, during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Actually many folks say Eisenhower was a major barrier to Alaska statehood, but he was the president, so he still gets his bust on the monument. It was erected in 1990, in honor of 75 years since the establishment of Anchorage, and also the centennial of President Eisenhower's birth.

From the overlook you can see the Alaska Railroad yards, part of the Port of Anchorage and the neighborhood of Government Hill, across the Ship Creek river bottom. This is where the tent city of Knik Anchorage, later shortened to Anchorage, was set up in 1914.

An informative set of signs on the overlook explains the history of what your are seeing.Ship Creek itself is full of salmon in June and August, and a walkway that crosses a dam just upstream from here is a good place to watch the fish and to feed ducks. There is a stairway which leads down from the overlook to the river bottom. It's a strenuous climb back up the stairs.