American engineer and politician
Anton Albert Andrew Anderson (1892–1960) was chief engineer of the Alaska Railroad [ 1] and served as Mayor of Anchorage , Alaska from 1956 to 1958. He has been called "Mr. Alaska Railroad".
The Hodge Building (later renamed Begich Towers ) which Anderson designed
Biography
Anderson was born in Upper Moonlight , New Zealand to a Swedish father and an Irish mother.[ 2] In 1914, he moved to the United States to work as a surveyor in Hoquiam, Washington . He passed an engineering examination at Seattle University before moving to the recently founded city of Anchorage, Alaska to work for the Alaskan Engineering Commission . In 1927, he married Alma Menge, with whom he had three daughters: Jean, Patricia and Shelby.
In the 1930s, Anderson worked on the Matanuska Colonization Project, building infrastructure to support the settlement of the Matanuska Valley . During World War II , he served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers . He also participated in the construction of the Eklutna River hydroelectric dam. In 1951, he was elected President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers .[ 3]
Anderson served on the Anchorage City Council before being appointed in 1956 to complete the term of Mayor Ken Hinchey . Anderson was elected the following year, but ill health forced him to resign early.
Anderson died in 1960. In 1976, the tunnel from Whittier to Portage , which he had overseen, was renamed the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel .
References
Town/City of Anchorage (1920–75) Municipality of Anchorage (since 1975) Former boroughs