About Fairbanks Distilling Company
Located in historic Old City Hall
Owner Pat Levy giving a tour to the visiting band Deke Dickerson & The Whippersnappers
Old City Hall History
Designed by architect Henry Bittman with Art Deco elements such as repeated low relief geometrical decorations, it was built in 1935 as a fire proof combination city hall, fire station, and police station. It was the third poured concrete public building in Fairbanks.
Over time, as the city grew, the departments inside the building outgrew Old City Hall. First the police left, after that it was the firemen. Finally, the city voted to move into the larger Old Main School in 1994.
Charcoal drawing of Old City Hall by local Fairbanks artist Ray Bonnell that became a part of the front label of every bottle of 68 Below potato vodka. Thank you Ray!
Fairbanks Fire Department and EMS on 5th Ave next to Old City Hall estimated to be in the 1950's.
After 1994: The Fairbanks Downtown Association & The Community Museum Moved in
After the city left Old City Hall for the Old Main School building, the city leased the building to the Fairbanks Downtown Assoc. for a penny a year. They determined this building was just too large for them, so they sub-leased the ground floor to the Community Museum for a penny a year. Both non-profits shared the building until the city decided to sell it in 2013. At that time, Fairbanks Distilling Company just happened to be looking for a home in downtown to build a distillery. As this building had originally been built with large access doors for fire trucks to go in and out of, it was perfect for reopening to get large distillery equipment in through. And, hey, when it was a police station the city drunk tank had been in its basement… sounds like a perfect place to age whiskey.
