Entry No. 27 — the Anchorage file — filed under: oddities
Alaska Fur Exchange
A fur-trading shop that doubles as a walk-in cabinet of curiosities: stacks of antlers, mastodon bones, mounted specimens, and hides crammed alongside the knickknacks. It reads more like a natural-history vault than a store.
The story
Pull up to the corner of Old Seward Highway and Tudor Road, and you’ll find yourself in standard midtown Anchorage strip-commercial territory. But you didn't hear it from us: behind the door at 4417 Old Seward sits a four-decade-old family operation run by the Gillespie family that reads less like a retail store and more like a private natural-history vault. Step past the entryway wall of mounted animal heads, and the asphalt exterior dissolves into a dense wilderness archive.
The shop functions as an active trading post connecting rural Alaskan trappers and Native artisans with urban buyers. Stacks of raw and tanned pelts—wolf, fox, rabbit, coyote—sit piled beside ice-age mastodon bones, mammoth and walrus ivory, whalebone, and carved soapstone. As owner Geri Gillespie once noted, walking through the aisles feels like browsing inside a museum, except here everything crammed onto the shelves has a price tag.
What makes the place genuinely weird is the sheer density of untamed trade material under one roof. Bins of antler cuts sit beside hand-stitched mukluks and traditional masks, while bulk hides line the back walls. Don't rely on their rudimentary online catalog; the web inventory shows only a fraction of the bones, pelts, and specimens packed into the back racks.
What it's like
You will spot the entrance immediately by the wall of taxidermy heads staring back at you in the foyer. The air inside smells of cured leather and dry pelt, with narrow aisles hemmed in by stacks of hides, antler bins, and glass counters filled with ivory and bone. The vibe is quiet, unsanitized, and strictly functional—a working warehouse where local trappers trade pelts over the counter alongside curiosity hunters. Sundays outside peak summer are spotty, so aim for a weekday afternoon. Park in the store's dedicated lot out front, and when you need to decompress, head a half mile south to Arctic Roadrunner for a cash-only burger along Campbell Creek.
The move: Wander the stacks of furs, antlers, and mastodon bones together, run your hands over the hides, and pick out one small bone-or-fur oddity to take home.
📍 Before you go It sits at the corner of Old Seward Highway and Tudor Road in midtown strip-commercial territory — drive, and use the store's own lot out front (lot and entrance are both wheelchair accessible). You will know the right door by the wall of mounted animal heads in the entryway. The shelves run far deeper than the thin online inventory suggests, so budget real browsing time; Sundays have historically been spotty outside summer, so weekdays are the safer pattern. Pair it with Arctic Roadrunner a half mile south on Old Seward, a 1960s cash-only burger landmark on the bank of Campbell Creek.
- 📍 South Anchorage / Old Seward Hwy
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 4417 Old Seward Hwy, Anchorage, AK 99503
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- ARLIS Wildlife Realia Collection (Alaska Resources Library) — If handling hides and bones makes you want to borrow one, head under two miles northeast to this state library that lends out taxidermy on a standard library card.
- Rusty Raven Uniques — Continue your clutter-browsing afternoon a mile away at this Midtown strip-mall antique shop packed with unsorted postcards and vintage oddities.
- Nature's Jewels Rock Shop & Lapidary — Trade raw furs and ice-age mastodon bones for raw minerals, fossils, and lapidary work at this working stone studio just down the road.
Good to know
Where is Alaska Fur Exchange located, and is there parking?
It sits at 4417 Old Seward Highway at Tudor Road in Midtown Anchorage, with a dedicated, wheelchair-accessible lot directly out front.
When is the safest time to visit?
Weekdays during standard daytime hours offer the most reliable schedule; Sunday hours outside the summer season can be spotty, so confirm before driving over.
Are the pelts and carvings authentic?
Yes, the Gillespie family trades directly with Native Alaskan artists and rural trappers, stocking authentic pelts, ivory, whalebone, soapstone, and handmade gear.
Can I order their full inventory online?
No—their website and Etsy shop feature only a tiny slice of what is crammed inside the physical building, so you have to browse in person to see the actual depth.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Yelp · Only In Your State · Official site · spokesman.com
last checked: 2026-06-09