Key Bank of Alaska

This building may have been completed in 1982, but the history of the bank on this lot goes back to the early 1900's. It was here that "Square Sam" Bonnifield, a miner turned gambler turned banker, built the First National Bank of Fairbanks in 1905. Bought by Barnette in 1909 and subsequently run by his partner R.C. Wood, the First National Bank of Fairbanks survived the 1911 banking fiasco that caused Barnette to flee from Fairbanks in the middle of the night. It was the oldest national bank in the state before becoming Key Bank of Alaska in 1989.