The William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center (commonly known as simply the Egan Center) is a convention center located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

at 555 West Fifth Avenue. Constructed in 1984 as part of a massive Anchorage-wide

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

project dubbed "Project 80s", it replaced the original Z. J. Loussac Library, which opened on the same site in 1955 and was demolished in 1981. The library moved to a new building in midtown Anchorage, also as part of Project 80s. The building is named for

's first

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, William Allen Egan. It features a unique glass front that runs the entire length of the facility providing the reception area and the giant Ficus retusa trees inside with plenty of natural light. A

skywalk The SkyWalk is an approximately 160 metre enclosed walkway connecting Union Station to the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre (SkyDome) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Part of Toronto's PATH network, the SkyWalk passes above the York Street ' s ...

across Fifth Avenue connects the building to the

Alaska Center for the Performing Arts The Alaska Center for the Performing Arts is a performance venue in downtown Anchorage, Alaska. Opened in 1988, it hosts over 200,000 patrons annually, and consists of three theaters: * Evangeline Atwood Concert Hall, with 2,000 seats, is designed ...

. The building was designed by CCC Architects and Planners of Anchorage.Alison K. Hoagland, ''Buildings of Alaska'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993)

External links

Egan Center Homepage

Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau

Anchorage Civic & Convention District

References

1984 establishments in Alaska Buildings and structures completed in 1984 Buildings and structures in Anchorage, Alaska Economy of Anchorage, Alaska Music venues in Alaska Tourist attractions in Anchorage, Alaska {{AnchorageAK-geo-stub