Alaska State Historian Katie Ringsmuth advocated for heritage tourism at the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday. She said that Fairbanks should consider nominating Growden Memorial Park for the National Register of Historic Places.
Lunch-goers wore Edwardian-era clothing — long dresses, vests, bow ties and overalls— for the Golden Days-themed luncheon. Pat Cotter sported his Felix Pedro-like mustache and Greg Bringhurst wore a vest covered in Golden Days pins.
Heritage tourism, also known as cultural tourism, is an international tourism industry that relies on historic assets to teach visitors about a place through customs, traditions, history and culture, Ringsmuth said.
“Valuing our past can build a prosperous future,” Ringsmuth said.
Ringsmuth said that there are many benefits to historic preservation, including economic benefits for communities who prioritize preserving historic places.
“Economic value and historic value are actually not in opposition with each other,” Ringsmuth said.
Ringsmuth said that the relationship between heritage tourism and historic preservation is cyclical. “The market for heritage tourism will encourage the restoration of historic sites which will in turn increase visitation and stimulate local economies, stimulating resources for additional preservation,” she said.
The National Register of Historic Places, the national inventory of places that contain a community’s history, includes Old City Hall, Goldstream Dredge No. 8, and Ladd Field, among 18 others. Ringsmuth said that these historic properties are windows to life in the Interior over time.
Properties on the national register benefit the Fairbanks North Star Borough through local government grants, preservation grants and tax credits.
Growden Memorial Field, the home of the Alaska Goldpanners, is a perfect candidate for the national register and could catalyze statewide sports tourism, according to Ringsmuth.
“That field you have right over there is where the Last Frontier and the American pastime meet,” she said.
The park is also associated with many talented Major League Baseball players, such as Dave Winfield, Tom Seaver, David Kingman, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, and others.
The field also features the history of the annual Midnight Sun Game, the impact of the 1967 Chena River Flood, and baseball’s role in the settlement and growth of Fairbanks.
“Today Growden Memorial Field remains the most historically significant and intact sports venue in Alaska and that’s what makes it uniquely special and worthy of national recognition,” Ringsmuth said.
Ringsmuth also proposed that Growden Memorial Field host a game on July 4, 2026, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and create a permanent exhibit on baseball in the Interior in an effort to establish Fairbanks as a destination for sports tourism.