• Due to renovations to our vault, the majority of our collections are currently inaccessible. Access to collections may be limited until May 2024. Please contact us for more information.

Anchorage Organizing Committee Olympics records

Guide to the Anchorage Organizing Committee Olympics records
1976-1994

Collection number: HMC-1002.
Creator: Anchorage Organizing Committee.
Title: Anchorage Olympic Organizing Committee Olympics records.
Dates: 1976-1994, bulk 1984-1990.
Volume of collection: 51 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Records of Anchorage’s bids to host the Winter Olympics in 1992, 1994, and 1998.

Organizational history:
Anchorage Organizing Committee (AOC) was founded in 1984 by Rick Mystrom, then the owner of Mystrom/Beck Advertising who also served as Anchorage assemblyman (1979-1985) and mayor of Anchorage (1994-2000), and Chris von Imhof, manager of Alyeska ski resort.  The AOC was dedicated to bringing the Winter Olympics to Anchorage, and Rick Mystrom served as the committee’s chairman.  In 1985, the AOC presented a winning bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics to the U.S. Olympic Committee, but the International Olympic Committee ultimately awarded the host site to Albertville, France in 1986.  Anchorage was again selected as a contender for the 1994 Winter Olympics but lost out to Lillehammer, Norway.  The Anchorage Olympic Organizing Committee later also explored the option of submitting a bid for Anchorage for the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Collection description:
The collection contains the records of the Anchorage Organizing Committee’s bids for Anchorage to be the host site of the 1992, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics, including reports, correspondence, reference files, videos, audiotapes, photographs, artwork, publications, and other committee records.  The collection also contains Rick Mystrom’s and Rick Nerland’s personal records from their service on the committee. There are also artifacts, which consist of two stuffed-animals and multiple pins from various Olympic sites, as well as Olympic clothing samples.

Arrangement: The collection is arranged in the order in which it was received by the Archives. Boxes 1-51 are material donated to the Archives by Rick Mystrom and boxes 52-56 were donated to the Archives by Rick Nerland.

Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.

Rights note: Archives owns copyright to all material in the collection created or published by the Anchorage Organizing Committee.

Preferred citation: Anchorage Organizing Committee Olympics bids records, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.

Acquisition note: The collection was given to the Archives by Rick Mystrom in 2011. An addition was made by Rick Nerland in 2012.

Processing information: This collection was described by Megan K. Friedel in 2011. The collection was further described and new material added by Veronica Denison in 2013.

Container list:

Box Description Date
1-2 City documents and brochures circa 1986-1988
3-5 Bid tapes 1984-1989
6 Bid tapes and photographs 1984-1989
7-13 Technical manuals and photographs circa 1986-1989
14 Technical data circa 1987-1989
15-16 Current Olympics papers circa 1986-1990
17-19 Slides shows circa 1986-1990
20-22 Slides and photographs circa 1986-1989
23 Slides for 1992 Winter Olympics bid circa 1985-1986
24 Olympics bid slides and tapes circa 1984-1989
25-26 Books and publications circa 1986-1989
27 Publications (including International Olympic Committee), promotional material, and ephemera circa 1984-1989
28 Rick Mystrom papers: Anchorage Organizing Committee bids historical data 1985-1986
29-31 Rick Mystrom papers: 1992 Winter Olympics bid 1984-1988
32-35 Rick Mystrom papers: 1994 Winter Olympics bid 1984-1988
36 Rick Mystrom papers: 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics bids reference files 1986-1987
37 Rick Mystrom papers: 1998 bid to United States Olympics Committee 1989-1990
38 Rick Mystrom: Other city documents, bids, and view books 1976-1988
39 Rick Mystrom: International Olympic Committee information and general papers on the Olympics circa 1984-1989
40 Newspaper and magazine articles on the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics bids 1984-1989
41 1992 Winter Olympics bid photograph album 1986
42 Other photographs and audiotapes circa
43  “Anchorage, 1992, Book 1” and “Anchorage, 1992, Book 2” scrapbooks 1985 April-1986 March
44  “Anchorage, 1992, Book 4” and “Alaska except Anchorage, 1992, Book 1” scrapbooks 1985 March-1986 November
45 “International, Book 1, 1992” and “United States, 1992, Book 2” scrapbooks 1986 April-November
46 “Alaska/Anchorage, 1994, Book 3” and “Alaska/Anchorage, 1994, Book 5” scrapbooks 1987 July-1988 April
47 “Alaska/Anchorage, 1994, Book 7” and untitled scrapbooks 1988 July-1989 May
48 Scrapbooks 1989
49 Loose scrapbook pages of newspaper clippings 1986 April-1989 April
50 Loose scrapbook pages of newspaper clippings, framed photo of Rick Mystrom in Lausanne, Switzerland (1986 February 14), original artwork for Anchorage Olympics proposals, and signed posters from the Anchorage Organizing Committee to supporters circa 1986-1988
51 Original artwork, plans, and other papers of proposed Olympic venues for presentation by the Austin Company 1985 June
52 Books and publications on previous Olympics and the 1992 Anchorage bid 1979-1994
53 Scrapbook and photographs of the Anchorage Organizing Committee 1988-1989
54 Artifacts and plaques 1988-1992
55 Olympic clothing samples 1988-1992
56 Videotapes on various Olympics 1994-1998
OS folder 1-2 Original artwork of proposed Olympic venues for presentation by the Austin Company 1985 June

Comments are closed.