St. Nicholas Chapel (Ekuk, Alaska)

St. Nicholas Chapel, also known as the Santa Claus Church, is a historic Russian Orthodox church in Ekuk, Alaska, United States. The small, single story wood frame building was constructed in 1918 or 1919, replacing an earlier church. When originally built it was 16 feet wide and 21 feet long, but the chamber was subsequently lengthened, and is now 34 feet long. If it were not for its modest exterior religious symbols, it might be mistaken for a rural schoolhouse.[2] The church and its graveyard are located on a bluff which is subject to extensive erosion of the coast and, being just 185 feet from the shoreline, could be endangered in the next 50-100 years.[3]

St. Nicholas Chapel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
1990 HABS photo
Location	On a bluff about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Ekuk, Alaska
Coordinates	58°47′53″N 158°33′04″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1918
MPS	Russian Orthodox Church Buildings and Sites TR
NRHP reference No.	80000749[1]
AHRS No.	XNB-011
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 6, 1980
Designated AHRS	May 18, 1973

The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "NRHP nomination for St. Nicholas Chapel, Ekuk, Alaska". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-02-01.
3. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (February 23, 2009). "Alaska Baseline Erosion Assessment" (PDF). Retrieved June 6, 2017.