When people were discussing the move from the old to the new state museum, the nearly unanimous community sentiment in Juneau was to be sure the new museum included the Eagle Tree. The tree was the centerpiece at the entrance to the old museum, dominating the first floor, and drew visitors upstairs with a spiral staircase which allowed close-up views of the tree and the wildlife in its branches.
The new museum includes an Eagle Tree which is similar to the old one in many respects, but it is tucked in a corner across a large, arid rectangular lobby. It appears largely irrelevant to the museum as a whole — like a stick rising in the corner a parking lot. It is a sad failure in retaining the spirit of the original Eagle Tree.
Bart Rozell
Juneau
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