Town of Skagway
When our tour of the Yukon Territory was over, we were given the option of getting off the van in town or go back to the port to board the ship. It was around 3 pm and the ship was not sailing until 9 that night, so we decided to walk around Skagway for a bit.
Although we didn’t go in, here is a little history lesson about what is probably the most infamous building in town:
"Our Business is Your Pleasure"
The Red Onion Saloon, now a National Historic Building, was Skagway’s most exclusive bordello. Built in 1897 with planks cut by Capt. William Moore, the founder of Skagway, the Red Onion Saloon opened for business in 1898, serving alcohol on the first floor while the upper floor satisfied more than the prospector’s thirst. The brothel consisted of ten tiny cubicles, called cribs, each ten foot by ten foot with three exits, one into the hallway and one into each of the adjoining rooms. Each room also had a hole in the floor which connected to the cash register in the bar by means of a copper tube.
In order to keep track of which girls were busy, the bartender kept ten dolls on the back bar, one for each of the girls in each of the rooms. When a girl was with a customer, her doll was laid on its back. When she sent her money down the tube, the doll was returned to the upright position signaling to the waiting prospectors that she was ready for business. The bartender safeguarded the girl’s earnings, usually $5.00, preferably in gold, while in the crawl space between the floors, loose floorboards hid nuggets and private tips.
Because the rooms were divided by single planks toe-nailed into the ceiling and floor, not much sound-proofing was provided. To decorate their cribs, the women stretched linen across the rough planks, then glued wall paper to the cloth. Remnants of the original wall papers still cling to the planks. Some of the girls who worked in Skagway were Birdie Ash, Big Dessie, Popcorn Lil, the Oregon Mare, Babe Davenport, Pea Hull Annie, Kitty Faith, the Belle of Skagway and Klondike Kate.
By late 1899, business began to suffer. Most of the women moved north to Dawson which was closer to the gold fields and had big gambling casinos and dance halls.
Depiction of the Mascot Saloon from the gold rush days
We did go into a museum and gift shop- Ben especially enjoyed looking at the exhibits detailing the history of the area.
Ben is a history buff with a particular interest in military history, so he was intrigued to learn that the last shots in the US Civil War were fired in Alaska. After the Confederacy had surrendered and President Lincoln was assassinated, the crew of the CSS Shenandoah continued to capture and/or sink Union whaling ships in the Bering Sea.
Intricate carvings in ivory/jawbone
We walked around town a bit more, looking at landmarks which paid tribute to the mining history of Skagway
Skagway Centennial Statue:
We walked past this salmon stream as we returned to the port. It looks pretty, but at least of half of the salmon had reached the end of their journey and were dead in the water.
Before going back to the boat, we passed this restaurant. This would be a great chance to sample some Alaskan seafood. We knew we would be eating soon on board the ship, so we shared one fish and chips and one order of King Crab.
We were really struggling with opening the crab legs until the waitress came over and showed us how to use the little plastic fork to split the shell.
We had a great day in Skagway. We had dinner and I don’t think we did anything else that evening.
Next: Glacier Bay
