N. Lester Troast

Mayflower School, Douglas, AK. 1934.

N. Lester Troast (1899–1958)^[1] was an American architect from Sitka and Juneau, Alaska, who was the first professional architect to practice in Alaska.

Troast began his career in the 1920s, as a teacher at Sitka's Sheldon Jackson School. Circa 1930, he left the school and established an architect's office in Sitka. At that time, he was noted as Alaska's only professional architect.^[2] Later that year he moved his office to Juneau, the largest city in the then-territory. He quickly associated with William A. Manley, who would become a partner in N. Lester Troast & Associates in the mid-1930s. Manley was sent to Anchorage in late 1937 to open an office for the firm in that city.^[3] Troast had moved to New Jersey by the mid-1940s, and Manley opened his own Anchorage office in 1941.

William Manley would go on to have a notable career as the senior partner in the Anchorage firm of Manley & Mayer.

Works

• 1929 - Sage Memorial Building, Sheldon Jackson School, Sitka, Alaska.^[4]
• 1930 - Eielson Memorial Building, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska. Completed in 1940 by the H. B. Foss Company.^[2]
• 1932 - St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Alterations), 611 Lincoln St., Sitka, Alaska.^[5]
• 1933 - Mayflower School, St. Anns Ave., Douglas, Alaska.^[6]
• 1935 - Decker Building, 231 S. Franklin St., Juneau, Alaska.^[7]
• 1935 - U. S. Post Office (Old), Front St., Nome, Alaska.^[8]
• 1936 - Alaska Electric Light and Power Building, 134 N. Franklin St., Juneau, Alaska.^[9]
• 1938 - Bunkhouse, Independence Mines, Palmer, Alaska.^[5]
• 1940 - Howard Romig House, 440 L St., Anchorage, Alaska.^[10]

References

1. "N. Lester Troast (1899-1958)". http://public.aia.org/. n.d. Web.
2. Fairbanks (AK) Daily News-Miner 28 July 1930: 8.
3. Alaska Miner 10 May 1938: 11.
4. "Sage Building". http://hcap.artstor.org/. n.d. Web.
5. Hoagland, Alison K. Buildings of Alaska. 1993.
6. Mayflower School NRHP Nomination. 1988.
7. "231 S. Franklin Street". http://www.juneau.org/. n.d. Web.
8. Western Architect and Engineer 1935: 71.
9. http://www.aelp.com/history/revised/centennial/p2.pdf
10. South Addition Historic Context Statement & Building Survey. 2012.