Entry No. 21 — the Anchorage file — filed under: cemetery
Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery (the unmarked-graves Pioneer Cemetery)
Established in 1915 with the original townsite, this nine-block downtown cemetery holds 15,000-plus graves — about 3,000 of them once unmarked. Historian John Bagoy spent 15 years using a metal detector to find the little buried metal ID tags and put names back to the forgotten dead, from pioneers to Native chiefs.
The story
When Anchorage was established in 1915 as a tent town along Ship Creek, city planners laid out a nine-block square downtown between 6th and 9th Avenues specifically for the dead. Over the next century, more than 15,000 bodies were interred in the soil. Because early burials relied heavily on wooden crosses, Alaska's brutal freeze-thaw cycles meant markers rotted away fast. By the late 20th century, around 3,000 graves had lost their identities entirely, reduced to flat sod and forgotten plots.
That was until local historian John Bagoy stepped in with a metal detector. Bagoy spent 15 years methodically sweeping the nine-block grid to locate tiny tin identification plates that early undertakers had tacked onto wooden markers before they disintegrated. His painstaking sweep put names back to thousands of graves—from Native leaders and territorial pioneers to local eccentrics like William 'Lucky' Baldwin, a grocery store owner who had his tombstone ('Here Lies Lucky and Always Will Lie') cast in concrete and kept under his bed for years before he actually died in 1942.
The cemetery also holds darker, unresolved corners of Alaskan history. Tucked among the pioneer rows are graves of unidentified crime victims, including 'Eklutna Annie,' the first known victim of serial killer Robert Hansen, who lay for decades marked only by a generic bronze plaque. It is a rare urban space where municipal order, pioneer folklore, and cold-case mysteries converge within walking distance of downtown cafes.
What it's like
Entering through the John Bagoy Gate at 7th Avenue and Cordova Street places you instantly on a quiet, lawn-covered grid surrounded by downtown streets. Free parallel parking rings the blocks, making it an easy pitstop on foot. On warm summer days, you'll spot locals taking quiet walks through the rows, but keep in mind this is an active municipal cemetery—keep your voice down and stay off active burial plots. If you visit during midsummer window events like summer solstice or the second Sundays of July and August, you can catch the 'Stories at the Cemetery' performance, where costumed actors give monologues directly at the grave sites.
The move: Enter at the John Bagoy Gate (7th & Cordova) and do a slow self-guided wander reading the weirdest epitaphs — like 'Here Lies Lucky and Always Will Lie' — trading the stories each headstone hides; come back for the summer 'Stories at the Cemetery' costumed tour if your timing lines up.
📍 Before you go The cemetery fills a nine-block grid downtown, bounded roughly by 6th and 9th Avenues and Fairbanks and Cordova Streets, so it's an easy walk from anywhere in the core; the John Bagoy Gate sits on the Cordova Street side. There's no lot, but free on-street parking rings the surrounding blocks. Summer is the window — snow-free paths, long daylight, and the costumed "Stories at the Cemetery" tours. It's an active municipal cemetery, so keep voices low and stay off the plots. Pair it with the downtown core: museums, coffee, and the Ship Creek trail are all minutes away.
- 📍 Downtown Anchorage
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: John Bagoy Gate, 7th Ave & Cordova St, Anchorage, AK (between 6th-9th Aves and Fairbanks-Cordova Sts)
Hours: Cemetery grounds walkable in daytime; 'Stories at the Cemetery' tours run summer (around June 21 and second Sundays of July/August).
Pair it with
- Valley of the Moon Park (the old crib-house red-light row) — Pair this downtown cemetery walk with a visit to the nearby creekside park where Anchorage's 1916 brothel row once stood.
- Source Metaphysical Book Store — Walk three blocks west after your cemetery stroll to browse esoteric texts and occult supplies at Anchorage's long-running metaphysical shop.
- The Raven — Located just three blocks away, Anchorage's oldest neighborhood gay bar offers a grounded spot for a post-tour drink and a game of pool.
- Thomas Planetarium at the Anchorage Museum — Four blocks away inside the Anchorage Museum, this full-dome planetarium lets you pivot from pioneer history to astronomy and light shows.
Good to know
Where is the best place to enter and park?
Enter through the John Bagoy Gate at 7th Avenue and Cordova Street; there is no off-street parking lot, but free on-street parking surrounds the cemetery blocks.
Who was John Bagoy?
John Bagoy was a local historian who spent 15 years sweeping the cemetery with a metal detector to locate buried metal ID tags, identifying around 3,000 previously unmarked pioneer graves.
What is the story behind the 'Here Lies Lucky' headstone?
It marks the grave of pioneer grocer William 'Lucky' Baldwin, who pre-cast his own concrete headstone with that epitaph and stored it under his bed until his death in 1942.
When are the costumed tours held?
The 'Stories at the Cemetery' costumed tours run in the summer, typically around summer solstice (June 21) and on the second Sundays of July and August.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: adn.com · muni.org
last checked: 2026-06-06