Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Saquon Barkley Plaque
Kirkkasik Bedesten inside
Kirkkasik Bedesten
Someshwar Temple
Someshwar Temple
Grilled cheese and tomato soup are soulmates.
The Palisades Restaurant
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
A skeleton on display contemplating its own mortality.
Kid Mai Death Awareness Cafe
This classic London pub has a surprising history behind it.
John Snow
The beef, Guinness, and oyster pie sports a rich, flaky crust.
The Guinea
Welcome to one of the only floating pubs in the world.
Tamesis Dock
This may be the oldest pie in the world.
St Helens 'Oldest Pie' at The Turks Head
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Decoy’s wines reflect the terroir of California.
How a Wooden Duck Migrated From the California Wetlands to a Wine Label
10 days ago
There’s more to the French capital than the Eiffel Tower.
Dear Atlas: What Are Some Non-Touristy Things to Do in Paris?
14 days ago
The plants around Liz Dauncey in this photo are not poisonous, but many common garden and houseplants are.
Are Some of Your Favorite Houseplants Poisonous? AO Wants to Know.
21 days ago
“There may be a collective sense of a dark loneliness,” Dahl says, referring to Norway’s natural landscape.
In Norway, Easter Means Tucking Into Crime Stories
21 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Alaska Fairbanks Golden Heart Plaza
AO Edited

Golden Heart Plaza

Once the center of Gold Rush mania, now the starting point for the Yukon Quest sled dog race.

Fairbanks, Alaska

Added By
James T. Bartlett
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
“Unknown Family” by Malcolm Alexander (1986)   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
“Unknown Family” by Malcolm Alexander (1986)   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
The18 foot high statue shows a family and their two dogs   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
The humans and dogs stand facing every direction....   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Golden Heart Plaza sign   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
“The Bells of Rotary” poem by William Ransom Wood   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
33 foot high, it began chiming in 1990   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
The multi-level Plaza, with Carillon Clock in background   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
“Unknown First Family” statue in Golden Heart Plaza   Dylan Avery / CC BY-SA 4.0
The music and lyrics to “Alaska’s Flag”   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
The Alaska Highway milepost   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Family history   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Golden Plaza (r) on Rubber Duckie Race Day   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
8000 are released in a charity race as part of the Golden Days Festival   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
One plaque noting the history of Fairbanks   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Alaskan history   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Mining is a major part of Alaska’s past and present   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Plaque celebrating “Barnette’s Landing” in 1901   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
One of the 70 plaques around the Plaza   jbartlett2000 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The Golden Heart Plaza at First Avenue and Cushman Street is home to a monument paying tribute to entrepreneur E.T. Barnette, who was forced to take a detour up the Chena River on his way to setting up a supply store elsewhere.

Facing low water, the Lavelle Young riverboat left him here in 1901. Barnette and his wife reluctantly set up business. Just a few months later, gold was discovered in the area, and they were perfectly placed to make a fortune. As the name suggests, the Golden Heart Plaza is at the center of where the gold rush mania happened, and it was completed in 1986 after being inspired by suggestions to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Alaska’s 1959 awarding of statehood.

A concrete, multi-level plaza that features some 70 plaques that contain the names of Interior Alaskan families, organizations, institutions, historical information about the industries that have shaped the city, and even the music and lyrics to the song "Alaska’s Flag."

Dominating the plaza is an impressive fountain statue named Unknown First Family, which was designed by Malcolm Alexander. At the unveiling, he said that it portrays “the family of all mankind, the family of Fairbanks, and the nuclear family, let symbolize, for families present and future, the pride and dignity of this great land.”  

The statue stands over 18 feet high and highlights this fur-dressed family and their two loyal dogs, who stand back-to-back and face every direction they might have been traveling to or from. 

Hard to miss, or hard not to hear, is the 33-foot-high, four-faced carillon clock tower, which was commissioned by the local Rotary Club to celebrate its 50th anniversary in September 1990. It features clear and musical London-style Westminster Chimes to mark the time, among other songs. On the column, there is a plaque with the poem "Bells of Rotary," written by William Ransom Wood, a former politician and leader of the University of Alaska. From the plaza, you can take a riverwalk in either direction towards the six community parks covering 100 acres, or visit the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center.

A little further on is the huge Lend-Lease Monument, which celebrates the strategic and social importance of Alaska in the World War II program that saw over 8,000 U.S.-manufactured aircraft and supplies ferried from the lower 48 states and over Canada to Ladd Field in Fairbanks, where Russian pilots then flew them into the Japanese, German, and Italian theaters of war.

On the opposite end of the Plaza, the distinctive, grass-roofed log cabin was constructed in 1958 and was formerly the Fairbanks Visitor Center before recently becoming the home of the 300-mile Yukon Quest race, which sets off on the frozen river here in February.  

A few steps from the cabin is the Milepost, one of many that follow an Alaskan tradition that originated and is still used today to orient travelers along the Alaska Highway from Canada. This large milepost lists the miles between Fairbanks and 76 different cities around the world.

Related Tags

History Gold Rush Gold Monuments Dogs

Community Contributors

Added By

jbartlett2000

Edited By

Michelle Cassidy

  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

August 23, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Golden Heart Plaza
516 First Ave
Fairbanks, Alaska, 99701
United States
64.844421, -147.719142
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Alaska Highway's Milepost 1523

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Lend-Lease Monument

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Fairbanks Community Museum

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Fairbanks

Fairbanks

Alaska

Places 14
Stories 2

Nearby Places

Alaska Highway's Milepost 1523

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Lend-Lease Monument

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Fairbanks Community Museum

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Fairbanks

Fairbanks

Alaska

Places 14
Stories 2

Related Places

  • Skagway Centennial statue with the train in the background.

    Skagway, Alaska

    Skagway Centennial Statue

    A monument commemorating the role of Alaska's native Tlingit guides in the Klondike Gold Rush.

  • The Welcome Stranger Monument

    Moliagul, Australia

    The Welcome Stranger Monument

    This stone obelisk commemorates the discovery of the world's largest gold nugget.

  • Armstrong Nugget

    Baker City, Oregon

    The Armstrong Nugget

    This 80.33 troy ounces of solid gold is believed to be the largest nugget from Oregon still in its original form.

  • Aerial view of Fort Egbert.

    Eagle, Alaska

    Fort Egbert

    This remote fort on the Yukon River is a vestige of the wild Alaska gold rush.

  • Lincoln overlooking the town of Wabash, IN

    Wabash, Indiana

    The Lincoln Monument

    Abraham Lincoln never visited Wabash, but his statue found a home there.

  • Taichung City, Taiwan

    Cho Myeong-ha Incident Monument

    A trilingual monument marks the site of a Korean independence activist's assassination attempt on a Japanese prince in Taiwan.

  • Kingston, Missouri

    Far West Temple Site

    This grassy field marks the site of a surprising religious conflict.

  • A crowd of statues

    Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Garden of the Generalissimos

    A Taiwanese garden teems with the retired statues of the island's former dictator.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.