Fairbanks, Alaska: Golden Heart Plaza

Every city needs a title, and Fairbanks has one. It's "The Golden Heart City," which is mentioned right at the front of the visitors guide. It's something of a tribute to the city's roots, which involve a gold rush.

Naturally, the major gathering point of the town is "Golden Heart Plaza." This serves as something of a gathering point for town events. When we were there in early June, workers were getting the place ready for a nice early summer concert right on the Chena River. No curfew here, since sunset was after midnight. A farmer's market is also held there.

You can see a statue in the middle of the plaza in the picture, a tribute to the "Unknown First Family" of the city - which salutes the Native population. I thought it would be nice to have a shot of the riverside instead of the statue for a change. This was taken from the William Ransom Wood Memorial Footbridge. Dr. Wood is a former mayor of the city, if you're curious.

Fairbanks actually is rather well-known for a town its size, which is less than 40,000 people. That's still one of the biggest cities in Alaska, and it pops up all the time on weather forecasts. It's the coldest place in Alaska in the winter, which is saying something. Oh, and it's also the warmest in the summer, and the driest.

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