Chris Anderson mounts a Marine View and Heritage Way sign together in preparation for the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Chris Anderson mounts a Marine View and Heritage Way sign together in preparation for the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Time of the signs: New Heritage Way signs ready to go ahead of November name swap

CBJ Streets employees make the custom signs Thursday morning.

A downtown street is getting a new name in early November, and the City and Borough of Juneau Public Works Streets Division is wasting no time to make the transition as swift as possible.

On Thursday at the sign shop in the CBJ Streets facility, Streets Superintendent Scott Gray and Equipment Operator Chris Anderson spent their morning designing and creating five new Heritage Way signs that will replace the outgoing South Seward Street signs located on the two blocks between Front Street and Marine Way.

Chris Anderson touches up the design for the new Heritage Way signs in the making ahead of the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Chris Anderson touches up the design for the new Heritage Way signs in the making ahead of the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

The swap is scheduled to take place on Nov. 1 and, along with the news signs, City Hall’s mailing address will be changed. The portion of Seward Street from the stop sign between Heritage Coffee Roasting Co. and Juneau Drug towards the Alaska State Capitol will not be changed.

The idea to rename the street has been floating around since April when Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl announced during a public ceremony the nonprofit intended to change the street’s name to Heritage Way.

Chris Anderson removes the vinyl letters cut out for the new Heritage Way signs in the making ahead of the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Chris Anderson removes the vinyl letters cut out for the new Heritage Way signs in the making ahead of the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

“The reasons to change the street name is to make the street name compatible with the Northwest Coast arts people, the Heritage Square, the Walter Soboleff Building, the arts campus, the new SHI Fab Lab that will work to incorporate Indigenous and Western Science, and furthering Juneau as the Northwest arts capital of the word,” she said to the crowd.

Soon after her announcement SHI submitted an application to the city and in June the Planning Commission unanimously OK’d the change.

A historic change

Seward Street is named after William H. Seward, known during his lifetime as a former U.S. secretary of state and senator, and New York governor, who is more widely known in Alaska for his role in negotiating the purchase of the Alaska territory from the Russian Empire in 1867.

Chris Anderson measures a Heritage Way in preparation for the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Chris Anderson measures a Heritage Way in preparation for the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Many residents may recognize the statue of Seward from Dimond Courthouse Plaza across from the Capitol. Though Seward died in 1872, he has been a source of controversy in recent years as people have reexamined his legacy.

On one hand, Seward has been recognized as an abolitionist in the Lincoln administration, and an aid to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. When the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1864, Seward was Lincoln’s Secretary of State and contributed language to early drafts of the document, according to the Library of Congress. Documents from the William Henry Seward Papers at the University of Rochester Library show Seward sold a plot of land to Harriet Tubman, founder of the Underground Railroad.

On the other hand, Southeast Alaska residents — including Worl — have condemned his role in the suppression of Alaska Native culture. In a letter sent to the Empire, Worl said Seward’s hand in the purchase of the Alaska territory represents “the imperial ambitions that drove the United States to dispossess Indigenous peoples of their land and exclude them from the political institutions of the state.”

Making the signs

With the abundance of signs necessary to ensure safety in Juneau, Anderson said the city opts to make its own — it’s cheaper and, often, easier that way. He said on any given day he could make dozens of signs if projects need them quickly. The five signs he made for Heritage Way, along with another for Marine View, only took about an hour from design to finish.

Chris Anderson adds adhesive to the green vinyl that is used to make the new Heritage Way signs ahead of the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Chris Anderson adds adhesive to the green vinyl that is used to make the new Heritage Way signs ahead of the South Seward Street name change Nov. 1. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Anderson, using the city workshop, also helps make signs for other municipalities in Southeast from time to time, like in June when they created the first batch of street signs using the Lingít language — including a stop, yield, children-at-play and street names — for Haines.

[Haines raised its first Tlingit street signs — is Juneau next?]

He said if Juneau wanted to do something similar it wouldn’t be a difficult task on his end.

Anderson said the Heritage Way signs should last at least 20 years. The hardware is sturdy to make sure ravens don’t eat them — a problem that occurs more often than one might think he said.

“Oh yeah — they chew on them, they enjoy them,” he said. “They’re something else.”

After the signs are finished, a few will go up behind the current South Seward signs so that they can flip them when Nov. 1 hits. The others will be installed when the day comes.

A completed Heritage Way sits on a table at the CBJ Streets facility after being made Thursday morning. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

A completed Heritage Way sits on a table at the CBJ Streets facility after being made Thursday morning. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651) 528-1807.

More in News

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of June 15

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2025 schedule.… Continue reading

Sunlight gleams through the Tongass National Forest in Juneau on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Trump land sale plan draws protest in Sitka

Sitka residents are mounting a strong response to a draft provision of… Continue reading

In this still image from a video provided to the Alaska Beacon, the cruise ship Celebrity Edge (at right) is seen drifting toward the Carnival Luminosa (at left). Three other cruise ships are seen moored to the Juneau docks. (Video screenshot)
Coast Guard investigates storm-caused near-collision between two cruise ships in Juneau

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a near-collision between two cruise ships… Continue reading

A ferry worker ties up the Hubbard on Sunday, April 21, 2024, as it docks in Haines, Alaska. (Rashah McChesney / Chilkat Valley News)
Weekend ferry cancellation complicates travel for bike relay, solstice

A ferry cancellation will affect travel plans for some participants of the… Continue reading

Chris Storey shows where he found an incapacitated man in an embankment along Glacier Highway in Lemon Creek during the early morning hours of Monday, June 16, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Man who collapses near roadside rescued in early morning hours by passerby

Chris Storey, a former adult care worker who was homeless until April, assists man in distress.

Families write messages in chalk outside the governor's mansion on Friday, June 13, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
Chalking up education funding outrage on the sidewalk at the governor’s mansion

Families protest Dunleavy’s vetoes to education funding with colorful pictures and words.

Boats at Douglas Harbor under mostly clear skies on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
80°F in Juneau will trigger first-ever National Weather Service heat advisories

Officials say sun’s angle in Alaska makes temperatures feel higher compared to other states.

Christina Love leads the audience in raising their fist, symbolizing telling the truth despite fear on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
Juneau joins nation in ‘No Kings’ protest

More than 1,000 protestors join millions nationwide opposing Trump as he presides over military parade.

Most Read