Jesse Lee Home to be demolished
The Seward City Council has voted to demolish one of the original Jesse Lee Home buildings in Seward because of its decrepit condition, thereby making it too costly to preserve. Many groups have tried to make the campus into an historically functional place over the years but no one wanted to spend the amount necessary to restore it. The City Council decided they want to have:
1. One of the two remaining buildings demolished.
2. The other building will be renovated as an income business property for the city.
3. A plan and committee to develop an historical pavilion - interpretation center.
This Jesse Lee Home was the place where the Methodist Church established an orphanage after leaving Unalaska in 1926 and had to relocate it to Anchorage in 1964 after the major earthquake made it unsafe.
One of the youth residing there was Benny Benson who won the contest for the design of the Alaska State Flag.