History of Anchorage

errill Field served as Anchorage's primary airport during the 1930s and 1940s, when it was replaced by Anchorage International Airport in 1951. However, Merrill Field still serves a significant amount of general aviation traffic.

Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson were constructed in the 1940s, and served as the city's primary economic engine until the 1968 Prudhoe Bay discovery shifted the thrust of the economy toward the oil industry. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process led to the combining of the two bases (along with Kulis Air National Guard Base) to form Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

On March 27, 1964, Anchorage was hit by the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday Earthquake, which killed 115 people and caused $311 million ($2.34 billion current value) in damage. The earth-shaking event lasted nearly five minutes; most structures that failed remained intact the first few minutes, then failed with repeated flexing. It was the second largest earthquake in the recorded history of the world. Rebuilding dominated the remainder of the 1960s.

In 1968, oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay, and the resulting oil boom spurred further growth in Anchorage. In 1975, the City of Anchorage and the Greater Anchorage Area Borough (which includes Eagle River, Girdwood, Glen Alps, and several other communities) merged into the geographically larger Municipality of Anchorage The city continued to grow in the 1980s, and capital projects and an aggressive beautification campaign took place.

Alaska has been requested to change its capital from Juneau to Anchorage several times, since Anchorage's population provides better accessibility. In 1974, Congress approved the move, and in 1976 it was decided that Willow would become the new