Douglas Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the island in Alaska. For other islands, see Douglas Island (disambiguation).

Douglas Island is an island in the U.S. state of Alaska, just west of Juneau and east of Admiralty Island. It is separated from mainland Juneau by the Gastineau Channel, over which there is a single bridge. Recently, there have been plans to build a new bridge from North Douglas to the Mendenhall Valley. Admiralty Island lies to the west and south, across the Stephens Passage. Douglas Island was named for John Douglas, Bishop of Salisbury by Captain George Vancouver when he explored the area in 1794.[1]

Interesting features of the island include remnants of late 19th century to early 20th century gold mines, Sandy Beach, the only sand beach in the Juneau area, Eaglecrest Ski Area, Perseverance Theatre, and the Douglas Public Library.

Douglas is usually thought of as two areas: downtown Douglas Island, containing Sandy Beach, the mines, the library, Gastineau Elementary, the theatre, the gas station, the few bars and restaurants, and the bridge to Juneau; and North Douglas Island, containing Eaglecrest Ski Area and a heliport.

The island has a land area of 199.243 km² (76.928 sq mi) and a population of 5,297 at the 2000 census. It is part of the City and Borough of Juneau.