World Art Utopia

Begich Towers

Aerial view of Begich Towers in Whittier, Alaska: one pink, cream and teal 14-story building beside a parking lot, with a fjord and snowy mountains behind
Artwork FileUnited States

Begich Towers

StandingAug 2026

Built by the U.S. Army as the Hodge Building · Whittier, Alaska, USA

Photo: Quintin Soloviev / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0), as also published in Street Art Utopia.

Begich Towers is a 14-story building in Whittier, Alaska, where almost the whole town lives. The U.S. Army built it in the 1950s as the Hodge Building, to house soldiers, civilian workers and their families at its port. It later became a condominium and was renamed after Congressman Nick Begich. Today it also holds the post office, the police station, a store, a clinic and a church, and a tunnel leads from it to the school. Source Source Source Source Source Checked

Standing Aug 2026: a La Nación report from 5 August 2026 says most of Whittier’s residents still live in the 14-story building, which also holds the post office and police station. A Commons aerial photo from 16 May 2026 shows the tower in the middle of the town. Source Source Checked

More photos

Begich Towers, painted beige, seen across rail tracks and a fence in front of snowy mountains in May 2008
2008 Beige tower beyond the rail yardPhoto: Barbara Ann Spengler from Arizona & Florida, USA / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

💡 4 things to know

  1. Built by the ArmyAfter World War II the Army planned a group of multistory buildings at Whittier, and the Hodge Building was the first. It was named after Colonel Walter William Hodge (as the Anchorage Daily News spells it), who commanded an engineer regiment on the Alcan Highway. The Anchorage Daily News says it was dedicated on 20 November 1956, while Wikipedia gives 1957 as the completion year. Source Source Source Conflicting
  2. Renamed for Nick BegichAfter the Army left, the building became a condominium and was renamed Begich Towers. Nick Begich was an Alaska congressman whose plane disappeared in 1972. Wikipedia dates the renaming to 1972, while the Anchorage Daily News says it was renamed when the condominium association formed in 1974. Source Source Conflicting
  3. A town under one roofNPR describes the post office near the entrance, the police station down the hall, a laundromat, a market, a health clinic and a church in the basement. Whittier had 272 residents at the 2020 census, and almost all of them live in the building. Source Source Source Source Checked
  4. The tunnel into townThe only road into Whittier is the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. It is one lane wide and shared by cars and trains in both directions, so traffic runs on a timetable. Children can walk to school through a tunnel from the building. Source Source Source Checked

📍 Where it is

Whittier is reached by road through the timed one-lane tunnel, or by train or boat. Begich Towers is a private residential condominium. Source Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

Opens a Google Maps search for the coordinates (60.77222, -148.68556); no Street View panorama was checked for this file.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 195620 Nov

    Hodge Building dedicated; national press arrives by train · Anchorage Daily News

  2. 1957

    Hodge Building completed and in Army use · Wikipedia

  3. 1974

    Condominium association formed; building renamed Begich Towers · Anchorage Daily News

  4. 200823 May

    Beige tower beyond the rail yard (Barbara Ann Spengler) · camera date

  5. 2015

    Post office, police and church all inside one building · NPR

  6. 20201 Apr

    Census counts 272 residents in Whittier · U.S. Census Bureau

  7. 202616 May

    Aerial view of Whittier and the tower (Quintin Soloviev) · camera date

  8. 20265 Aug

    Most residents still live in the 14-story building · La Nación

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark dated records and reports. Publication dates are not camera dates.

🗞️ In the sources

La NaciónNews, 5 Aug 2026

El pueblo de Alaska donde casi todos viven en un mismo edificio de 14 pisos y los niños cruzan un túnel para ir a la escuela

“Incluso, la oficina de correos y la comisaría de policía se encuentran ahí.”

Even the post office and the police station are there.

Read the source →

NPRRadio, 2015

Welcome To Whittier, Alaska, A Community Under One Roof

“The post office is near the entrance. Down the hall, you’ll find the police station.”

Read the source →

Anchorage Daily NewsNews, Aug 2016

Who was Hodge? First namesake of famous Whittier building served in Alaska during World War II

“The national press made the trip by train for the dedication on Nov. 20, 1956”

Read the source →

✅ The facts

Original name
Hodge Building Source Source Checked
Built
Dedicated 20 Nov 1956 (ADN) / completed 1957 (Wikipedia) Source Source Conflicting
Built by
U.S. Army Source Source Source Checked
Height
14 floors, in three connected towers Source Source Source Checked
Population
Whittier: 272 (2020 census), almost all living in the building Source Source Checked
Renamed
Begich Towers: 1972 (Wikipedia) / 1974 (ADN) Source Source Conflicting
Status today
Inhabited; still the town’s main residence Source Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 5 November 2026. How we verify art