Hard Luck Town
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2/27/2011
At first view, Seward looks pretty good. It's scenic enough, sitting along Resurrection Bay, a deepwater fjord with glaciers hanging from the mountains surrounding it.
Look closer, though, and you'll see the downtown area, though scenic....is more like a run down ghost town than anything else.
I've watched Seward for thirty years or so. There's always something on the horizon which is going to turn the dreary economic situation around....which never seems to happen. Even when the "something" actually materializes. For example, there's a relatively new state prison on the other side of the Bay (not within sight of the water). Doesn't seem to have helped the economy that much. There's a world class sea aquarium which went in a few years ago. The occasional cruise ship started to come in to the port a few years back. Coal and grain were supposed to be exported from the port....facilities were constructed to facilitate these exports. The U.S. Army operates a recreational center in Seward. The State of Alaska operates a rather large vocational college.
Seward takes little notice of any of it, stays pretty much the same decade after decade.
Patrick | Springfield, OR