Permanent Exhibits

Pinzon Bar

“The Pinzon” –no one ever called it the Pinzon Bar-was a fixture of the original downtown Valdez town site. There were many others, but the Pinzon seems to have been a “hub” for socializing and political activity until it was closed following the 1964 earthquake. The Pinzon served alcoholic beverages, of course, but more than…

Good Friday Earthquake

On March 27, 1964, Alaska experienced the largest-ever recorded earthquake in North America. Known as the Good Friday Earthquake, this event caused an underwater landslide that washed away the waterfront area of Valdez and resulted in the loss of 32 lives. The quake also caused a local tsunami which surged into town, causing significant damage….

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling 11.2 million U.S. gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. This event naturally holds historic significance for Valdez, as the terminus for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and as a center for oil spill cleanup activity in the aftermath of the…

Hinchinbrook Lighthouse

The Cape Hinchinbrook Lighthouse served as a beacon to mark the entrance to Prince William Sound, and to warm mariners of the dangerous shallows nearby. Funds for construction of the site, 88 miles from Valdez, were appropriated in 1906and the station was completed in 1910. Earthquake damage in the late 1920s resulted in the lens’…

Aviation

Air travel has long been an essential mode of transportation for Alaskan towns, and Valdez is no exception, being home to pioneer bush pilots such as Bob Reeve, Owen Meals, and Bill Egan. From the 1920s onward, aviators allowed remote communities sustained access to the outside world, and provided transport for miners, hunters, and others…