We happen to be camping in New Valdez. We had no idea there was an Old one, so today we sought out knowledge at the excellent Valdez Museum & Historical Archive.

Remember me mentioning the Great Alaskan Earthquake of 1964 (the largest earthquake ever to hit North America)? The epicenter of this awesome quake was a mere 45 miles west of Valdez and 14 miles under the earth's crust. Initial shocks lasting over five minutes affected nearly all of the coastal communities.
These before and after aerial photographs do nothing to show the magnitude of the devastation. Note in the bottom photo, where there is no snow it is because that is how far the wave traveled.
Unfortunately, Old Valdez was built upon very unstable soil. The massive shock waves ripped streets apart, damaged homes and destroyed buildings in town. The two docks were completely destroyed. The earthquake triggered a huge submarine slide that caused millions of cubic yards of earth to slide into the Valdez Bay. Large seiche waves caused additional damage. Thirty-one Valdezeans (mostly children) lost their lives, due to the fact they were all on the dock greeting a supply ship (it was Good Friday and the ship had treats for the them). No one on shore perished.
We learned a great deal at the Remembering Old Valdez Exhibit by studying the museum’s Historic Old Town Valdez model, a 1:20 scale replica of Old Town as it appeared just prior to the 1964 Earthquake. The model includes over 400 buildings and 60 city blocks. Details include window boxes, period automobiles, pets, and signs. It is divided into 11 pods along the major dividing streets so visitors can ‘walk through town’, following the routes that families in Old Town followed for years. Great care was taken to assure historical accuracy. Buildings were constructed based on original photographs and slides. Former residents were consulted regularly to determine the exact locations of everything, from garden plots to buildings. This was beyond amazing.
We also learned about the wonderful quality of life the Valdezeans experienced before the quake. Still known as the Switzerland of Alaska, due to its stunning location in a fjord, surrounded by glaciers, its prior business embraced the moniker.
So why an Old & a New Valdez? The ground under Valdez was determined to be unstable and it was decided to move the location of Valdez to a new town site. The Army Corps of Engineers chose the delta of Mineral Creek after much research that found the ground was more stable.
It took from two to four years for the New Valdez to become home for Old Valdez residents. For those whose houses had been condemned, the Salvation Army came to the rescue with their Operation Mobile Igloo. 
Once everything was ready, over 60 homes and buildings were deemed safe to be moved, and that is exactly what they did.
The condemned buildings that remained behind were set ablaze and the newly formed Alaska State Fire Department worked on its skills. Now very few reminders, of the once thriving town, remain.



Some of the streets remain, with informational before photos and details highlighting what once had been here. This was the location of the Post Office.
It is one of the buildings that survived the quake and tsunami that followed and was moved. We found it interesting to wander the town and look for those stalwart structures that persevered.

Since that tragic day in 1964, Valdez has grown and flourished. For its efforts in rebuilding the new Valdez in an amazingly short time, Valdez was voted an All America City in 1965. We are truly happy we took this road-less-traveled by and it really has made all the difference in our Alaska memories.