Memories of the Powerful 1964 Earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska

First-hand accounts of what our reader's experienced during the largest earthquake in North America.

Our Alaska VIP Club members sent in their stories.

Barrett’s Office Supply

“ I am a survivor of the 1964 earthquake.

I was in my store, Barrett’s Office Supply on 5th avenue, next to the Club Paris at the time of the earthquake.

The loud noise preceded the shaking and rolling waves of the ground. My first move was to the 5th avenue entrance of my store, where I saw the slabs of the Penneys store fall and crush cars.

I then moved to the alley, between 4th and 5th, where I saw the Hilton Hotel sway back and forth. I saw a couple of cracks open and close in the alley, as well as a couple of people exit the Club Paris through its alley entrance.

The closing of the downtown area for an extended period of time resulted in my relocating my store into a new building at 502 West Northern Lights Blvd.”

From Northern Lights Boulevard

“Yes, I'm a survivor.  

We lived in a mobile home at the top of the hill on Northern Lights Blvd (where Aurora Village is now).  We were lucky since the home rocked and rolled with the quake but didn't receive a lot of damage. 

I was in the bathtub when it started. I got out and made it to the bedroom I shared with my little sister. Thankfully, she was outdoors with my mother. 

Somehow I managed to save her little tea set by tossing it onto her bed. After that, I laid down on the floor. My father was just outside in a storeroom where we kept an upright freezer. The freezer door flew open, hit his backside and knocked him out the door.  Fortunately, he wasn't hurt. 

After it was over, the silence was overwhelming-as though the world had stopped completely.  I've never been able to describe the lack of sound. And I hope never to experience that again.”

Sheila 

Earthquake Park Told Part of the Story

“Where was I when the earthquake hit?

I was in my hometown of Berkley, MI, most likely getting ready for bed. It wasn’t until our family’s Easter Sunday Brunch when the topic came up. Alaska seemed so far away, but the stories coming over the wires about the damage and destruction were somehow etched into my mind. It seemed so profound to me that this awful event occurred in conjunction with the day we Catholics and other Christians commemorated the death of Jesus.

How was I to know that 3 years later I would have a first-hand view of nature’s power that day, while walking about Earthquake park, which was a short distance from my newly rented little house in Spenard.

These days, the clay upheavals at the park are worn down and hidden by tall trees, but my memories are clear.

They include the memory of the fellow teacher who cried at the mention of the quake, because she couldn’t get to her children, not knowing if they were safe. Or the secretary who spoke of sweeping up her grandmother’s shattered china from her dining room floor, and being grateful she was alive.

My late husband, Bob, spoke of his experience that day and of the weeks after, as Alaskans came together, cleared up the mess and rebuilt the towns and cities (his photographic images are archived at UAA library). Today, the survivors and their stories are a living testimony of the spirit of Alaska at its best. You are the reason Alaska, after 50+ years, is still my home. I salute all of you!”

Cindy

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Alaska Towing and Wrecking

“Hello, my name is Sam DeLozier, and I am a survivor of the great 1964 Alaska Earthquake.

We lived on 5th ave right across from Merrill Field in a two-story cinder block building my Dad had built. Our business was called Alaska Towing and Wrecking. When the earthquake hit, I believe my brothers and I were watching the Buckaroos kids show on TV. All at once we felt the building start moving and the TV fell off the dresser.

Scared, we ran into the living room to go down the stairs, but they were gone. As I looked up and out the windows, I saw buildings at the airport collapsing.

Next to our wrecking yard was the brand new Chrysler Center building and I watched it collapse. I just knew our building was next.

All of a sudden, one of the men who worked for my Dad grabbed us. Then, one at a time, lowered us down the empty opening of the staircase to my father below who put us outside into the cab of one of his wreckers.

The ground continued to move, and I watched the cars in our wrecking yard move up and down and against each other like waves of water.

To add to the terror, there was a car engine hanging on the back of the wrecker that had just been pulled out of a car. It swayed back and forth each time the ground would move, it tilted the wrecker. And just before it seemed like it was going to tip over, it would sway the other way.

The memory of this event is forever frozen in my mind.

Our home survived, but for months afterward, when the aftershocks would hit, I would run to the windows and hang outside two stories up and ready to jump if I should feel the building starting to fall.

Dad eventually sold the wrecking yard, and we moved to California, where small quakes are pretty common. But still to this very day, when I feel the ground move, I relive those terrifying 5 minutes of the great Alaskan Earthquake.”

Was it a Bomb?

“A friend had just dropped me off at home.

As I entered the front door, the quake began. I thought from the rumbling and shaking that our oil furnace was getting ready to blow up.

My mother yelled at me to get my baby sister, who was asleep on the sofa. (My mother had MS so she could not walk very well) Getting to my sister was not easy as I fell a couple of times while the floor was rolling back and forth.

I finally made it to the back door with my sister in my arms to join my mother. We did not know it was not recommended to go outside. I held my mother and sister while we hung on to a huge tree in our yard. I watched the earth move like it was an incoming tide of water, so eerie.

I knew nothing about earthquakes, but remember looking up in the sky for a huge mushroom cloud from a bomb. The reason I did that was that I had read the newspaper earlier, where the headlines said, "China rattles saber at the USA for being in the gulf of Tonkin with warships."

Then, our neighbor Shirley was in her yard, yelled it was an earthquake.

That night there were several quakes off and on as I slept with one eye open.

It was amazing how Alaskans rebuilt and helped one another.

I would drive by my old house every so often and look at that old tree and remember how it was. Last summer I went by and someone had cut it down! I have to admit, tears rolled down my face.”

Rick

He was in Juneau

“Well, I was home in Juneau (no school due to Good Friday) and when the quake hit our apartment building (12 floors) it really began to sway back and forth. 

While it certainly didn’t last for 5 minutes, it was enough to throw a real scare into me, my mom and sister. 

It took some time before word reached Juneau that the quake had been really, really bad for South Central Alaska.

From those first reports, it appeared as though Seward had been wiped off the map and that much of Anchorage had been reduced to rubble.  Ham radio operators were among the first to get the word to the outside world.  

Juneau was quickly put on a tsunami alert and folks were told to avoid going near the channel and to stay away from the boat harbor. 

It didn’t get to the point where an evacuation was ordered for folks to get to higher ground, but for a time, it appeared that might be necessary. 

Over the next 72 hours, as the reports were getting a little more detailed and confirmed, we realized not only the extent of the damage, but that folks had been killed as far away as Crescent City, CA from the four tidal waves created by the quake. 

Now, every year, the town of Crescent City holds a tidal wave drill so that locals know what to do in case it ever happens again.   

Needless to say, (following the quake) it was a quiet Easter weekend in Juneau.  I think church attendance went up on that Sunday.”

Peter 

Connect with Mike and Mary

We really appreciate all the 1964 earthquake survivor stories. Amazing.

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Until Next Time

Mike and Mary

Alaska VIP Club.com