Lathrop Hall
1860 Tanana Loop
UAF photos by Sierra Coley
Austin E. Lathrop Residence Hall opened in 1962 as on-campus housing for 134 male students. It subsequently became a coed hall.
Since 2007, Lathrop has alternated between use as a residence hall, administrative
offices and visitor housing. Most recently, Lathrop returned to service as a coed
residence hall for undergraduates in fall 2024.
Austin E. "Cap" Lathrop was born in 1865 in Michigan. Lathrop, a businessman with
interests in freighting, coal mining, banking, theaters, real estate, newspapers and
radio, was for a time the territory’s wealthiest resident. In 1924, his ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Moving
Picture Corp. produced "The Chechahcos," the first feature-length film shot entirely
in ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥.
He was named to the ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Agricultural College and School of Mines Board of Trustees in 1933. In 1935, when the college was renamed, the trustees board became the University of ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ . Lathrop served until his death in 1950.