Russian Bishop's House National Historic Landmark: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Sitka National Historical Park
Region 11 Park Cultural Landscapes Program. 2012. Russian Bishop's House National Historic Landmark: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Sitka National Historical Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 100081. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. NPS Alaska Regional Office, Anchorage, Alaska / CRIS-CL Database
Inventory Unit Description: The Russian Bishop’s House National Historic Landmark (NHL) is located at 501 Lincoln Street in Sitka, Alaska. The 0.5 acre site on the shores of Crescent Bay consists of the Bishop’s House, the Old School, a yard and a garden. In 1843-1844 the Russian-American Company constructed the Bishop’s House for Bishop Innokentii (Veniaminov), the first bishop of the diocese of Kamchatka, the Kuril, and the Aleutian Islands. When the house was completed in 1843, twenty-five people including Bishop Innocent, the diocesan court, pupils, and servants moved in. In addition to being a home for the Bishop, the two-story hewn log building contained a small chapel, housed church employees, and served as a school, seminary, and orphanage. The building was utilized by the Russian Orthodox Church until 1973. In 1897, the Old School building was constructed to the east of the Bishop’s House. This building served as a church school until 1921. The period of significance for the property extends from 1842 when the Russian-American Company laid the stone foundation for the building until 1921 when the floundering Russian Orthodox Church—devastated by the Russian Revolution—was no longer able to provide financial support to its diocese in America. The Bishop’s House property possesses historical significance for its associative value as well as its design and construction value. National Register Criteria for Evaluation of historic significance A, B, and C apply to the property. Criterion A addresses properties which are associated with historic events; Criterion C applies to properties linked with historical figures; and Criterion C relates to properties with architectural significance. In addition to the Criteria for Evaluation, Criteria Consideration A which addresses religious properties, pertains to the site due to its association with the Russian Orthodox Church. This report seeks to address the landscape associated with this National Historic Landmark which has not been thoroughly documented. The changes to this property over time offer insight into the activities of the historic Russian occupants as they carried their cultural traditions to Alaska. The Russian Bishop’s House property has been influenced by local changes as the city of Sitka developed around the site and by larger political changes including the sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867 and the 1917 Russian Revolution.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Region 11 Park Cultural Landscapes Program
- Date of Issue
- 2012-03-23
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- AKR , SITK
- Keywords
- Alaska Fur Trade, Architecture, Bishop Innokentii, chapel, church-related residence, Education, Exploration-Settlement, garden, National Historic Landmark, Native Alaskan, orphanage, Religion, Russian colonial period, Russian Exploration and Settlement, Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Revolution, Russian-American Company, school, seminary, Tlingit