Somebody Save Alaska's Rundown "Igloo City" Hotel

January 23, 2013 at 9:13 AM | by suzsteinert | Comments (0)

Brrrr! Here we are, HC'ers, riding out the winter all the way up in Alaska: mushing sled dogs, spending romantic nights beneath the aurora, and catching wind of fascinating local oddities. Like this wacky, abandoned igloo hotel.

Built back in the '70s along the highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks, the giant, four story-structure known as "Igloo City" has been picking up plenty of fresh press this month -- with even London's Daily Mail getting in on the action.

Failing to meet building code & fire safety inspections doomed the property from the get-go from ever operating as a bona fide lodging business (basically, the owners ran out of money). While the exterior dome was completed, the interior's "timber cathedral" (pictured) has remained unfinished. These days, it's nothing more than a decaying roadside attraction & convenient graffiti canvas (complete with gift shop & gas station) amidst the frozen tundra.

Call us crazy, but we think Igloo City's got potential to become the most kitchy & successful theme hotel anywhere in the Arctic. It's also a unique relic of the time before today's trendy ice hotels became cool. Plus, Japanese tourists will love it! (Many flock to Alaska come winter to screw like rabbits, allegedly believing that conceptions staged under the aurora borealis bring lucky births).

So, who out there knows any rich hotel magnates that'll salvage this place from inevitable demise?! Man, we'd love to sip hot cocoa and nosh on reindeer sausage here one day...

[Photos: Flickr/mmmavocado; Flickr/sandwichgirl]

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