McKinley Tower Apartments is a historic apartment building at 337 East Fourth Avenue in Anchorage , Alaska Originally constructed as a 14-story HUD 604 apartment building named the Mt. McKinley Bldg , it is the first , and oldest high-rise in Anchorage . McKinley Tower was designed in 1950 by Earl W. Morrison for MacDonald Architects of Seattle who also designed the nearly identical Inlet Towers at 1020 W. 12th Avenue . The building shares key design characteristics with several other buildings designed by Morrison including : Skye at Belltown in Seattle , WA The Mendenhall Tower in Juneau , AK and the Mary Frances Towers in Ketchikan , AK . After the building had sat for years following damage in the 1964 Alaska earthquake , it was purchased at auction by Anchorage attorney and real estate investor , Neil S. Mackay . He renamed it the McKay Building ( spelling intended ) and converted into an office building that housed the State of Alaska 's administrative offices and a private penthouse residence occupied by Mackay . The State of Alaska moved out in 1982 when the building was condemned by the city for failing fire codes . The building was completely gutted and stood windowless and abandoned for the next 20 years largely due to Mackay 's legal issues in relation to the assassination of his wife Muriel Pfeil and brother in law Robert Pfeil . The tower and annex building was purchased in 1998 by Anchorage developer , Marc Marlow and later remodeled and brought up to code after significant seismic reinforcement work was completed . McKinley Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008
1964 Alaska earthquake
1964 Alaska earthquake
McKinley Tower Apartments