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Alaska Film Archives

About the Collection

Over the past half century, the University of Alaska Fairbanks has built the largest collection of archival films in and about Alaska. The collection combines hundreds of donations of film and videos to UAF by individuals, organizations and institutions. Materials range from professional productions to amateur home-movies, made in and about Alaska from the earliest days of filmmaking through today. Since 1993 these materials have been held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library. Films and videos selected for this portal project are a sampling of the thousands available for checkout on DVD through the Rasmuson Library. Unless otherwise noted, items are presented here in their entirety, unedited and uncut. Short, popular clips from the collection can be viewed on our YouTube channel. Read more about the Alaska Film Archives.

1 to 4 of 4 Objects
[Bird dogs, parade, earthquake damage, winter scenery, coastal views]
[Bird dogs, parade, earthquake damage, winter scenery, coastal views]
This reel is made from three smaller reels of film. The original cans are labeled: “Retrieve[?]; Log house[?]; earthquake, Fraiser Canyon, ferry, Alcan.” Footage includes dogs receiving retrieval training and perhaps being judged at a competition, the 1962 Golden Days Parade in Fairbanks, bridge construction at an unknown location, Astoria Column in Astoria Oregon, a Sitka spruce sign on the end of a large log, a large log building and a train display, waves along a beach, a sign for the end of the Lewis and Clark trail, waterfowl, a steam engine train display and other equipment at a museum, Anchorage buildings and homes showing severe damage from the 1964 earthquake, a sign that says "I knew it was tough to make a living in Alaska but I didn't think we'd go 'in the hole' this bad!,” mountains in winter, a car with a flat tire on an icy road, a tire being changed, a man dip netting for small fish, a coastal town and harbor, and scenes from aboard ferry.
[KFAR television news footage 2]
[KFAR television news footage 2]
This footage features men and women being searched by police, a dog sled race, raised homes, people on a sternwheeler, a building with a sign that says "Bank Interior City Branch," aerial views of Alaska countryside, an airplane dropping some type of powder or smoke, people racing and having fun at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a man preparing for an art exhibition, outdoor city scenes on a windy winter day, large lengths of pipe being loaded onto a truck, airplanes at rest, a man using a snowblower, a truck removing snow, children playing, views from inside Alaskaland, the sternwheeler Nenana, a Pan American airplane taxiing, a man exiting the airplane onto a red carpet, a small car traveling down railroad tracks, scenic views of mountains and rivers, a locomotive engine pulling a single car on train tracks, a bridge over a river, surveyors and construction equipment on a dirt road, a steel bridge spanning a large canyon in Alaska, views of Nenana, the military practicing with large guns, crops, views of Barrow, Alaska Natives processing meat, oil workers operating machinery, scenes from inside a very large airplane (including the cockpit), the Wien Consolidated Airlines building in Barrow, scenes from aboard a large ship named the Manhattan, a helicopter landing on the ship, construction equipment moving earth, men and women dining, views from the inside of a power plan (?), men pouring and smoothing concrete, and scenes from a Golden Days parade in Fairbanks.
[KFAR television news footage 3]
[KFAR television news footage 3]
Footage from in and around Fairbanks includes a downhill ski race at Cleary Summit ski area on Steese Highway, the Golden Valley Co-op building, the Arctic Bowl building, students making dog harnesses, a building on fire, an unidentified meeting, UAF scenes, reindeer in pens, Alaska Native Queen contestants, women preparing traditional foods, an unidentified man being interviewed, Midnight Sun 600 snowmachine race activities, and snowmachines being refueled and arriving at the Big Dipper in Fairbanks. Additional footage includes a helicopter flying around the Hurricane Bridge construction site on the George Parks Highway and scenes of a construction site. Additional Fairbanks footage includes snow removal around town, the B&B Center, the Market Basket, Nerlands appliances and its Christmas window display, Fairbanks City Police arresting an individual, a car wreck, City Police arresting a man, and more snow removel. Subsequent footage includes Alaska State Troopers stopping a car, a television studio, City Police arresting people during a raid (?) on a house, men loading drums of fuel into a Canadian military Caribou freight airplane, people unloading the airplane in Anaktuvuk village (?), UAF Rifle Team members practicing, dancers from Telons (?) on stage and touring the Riverboat Nenana and Alaskaland, the inside of a bank, shots of Fairbanks International Airport's interior, various bank buildings and activities, Yukon 800 boats on the Chena River, Yukon 800 winners with a trophy, and an Interior Airways Twin Otter airplane landing at a remote camp in the arctic and departing.
[Vince and Evelyn Guzzardi collection 1]
[Vince and Evelyn Guzzardi collection 1]
AAF-11473 consists of 3 reels of 8mm film that have been combined onto one reel. Reel 1 is labeled “March 6, 1961” and contains footage of people sunbathing (the film has a mag stripe soundtrack that was badly deteriorated, so no audio was captured during digitization). Reel 2 is labeled “Hotel Fire” and contains footage of a burning building with firefighters responding (the film is badly deteriorated). Reel 3 is labeled”Chena Ice Classic etc.” and contains detailed scenes of the construction of the Cushman Street Bridge over the Chena River in Fairbanks in 1959.