United States Federal Building and Courthouse, Federal courthouse in Anchorage, United States

The United States Federal Building and Courthouse is a federal courthouse in Anchorage featuring a concrete structure with a flat roof and ceramic tile details. Inside, the original federal courtroom retains its historic fixtures including wood paneling and period furnishings.

Construction took place between 1939 and 1941, making it one of Anchorage's first major federal facilities when the territory was still decades away from statehood. The building arrived during a period of expanding federal presence in Alaska.

The first-floor courtroom keeps its stained walnut wainscot and benches, and behind the judge's bench hangs an oil-on-canvas mural, Alaskan Landscape, painted by Arthur Kerrick under a Works Progress Administration commission in 1942. It was installed in the 1950s, and conservator Peter Malarkey restored it in 1993. Five murals were planned, but only Kerrick's was completed.

The building still houses the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, so courtrooms and corridors are working spaces: visitors should keep voices low, follow posted security rules and avoid photographing proceedings. The southeast entrance originally led to the courtroom in the east wing, the southwest entrance to the post office in the west wing.

During the 1958 statehood celebrations, a giant American flag with forty-nine stars covered the building's facade; one star was overlaid with a larger star to mark Alaska joining the Union. The flag was made for the occasion and draped across the south elevation.