Skagway: Hollywood's Alaska

Today we took a Fast Ferry from the gorgeous coastal town of Haines to the tourist trap of Skagway. Don’t get me wrong, Skagway is also a beautiful coastal town. It’s just that tons of cruise ships port there, and the town is swarming with tourists.

At first look Skagway appears to be nothing but gift shops. The whole town is fixed up in an old west look that appears to be a Hollywood movie set. The only flaw seemed to be a graffiti problem.

While we walked around we came across a tour led by a park ranger. We started listening, and I became fascinated. Rather than just look through shops, we got the chance to learn some real history of the town.

I learned that the town has always been somewhat of a tourist town. Well, at least a town for travelers. During the Klondike Gold Rush, men came in the thousands as they headed up to Dawson City, Yukon. A tent town quickly developed in Skagway, and merchants came in to sell to all the visitors. They even painted the hills around with ads—the graffiti.

When merchants realized that people were more likely to buy from established businesses, they built wooden facades in front of the tents. The town was a fake from the beginning. To this day, facades are made to hide unattractive warehouses like this one.

When real buildings were constructed, they were constructed quickly, and moved from place to place. One famous building, The Red Onion Saloon, was put in backwards at its new home on Broadway. It still stands that way today.

That brings us to the story of the women. Very few women came through the area at the beginning, but those who did made a profit. One sold pastries, opened a hotel, and then started a shuttle business. She did very well, and her descendants still live in the town today.

Most women made money the old fashioned way, “negotiable pleasures.” The Red Onion was one of those businesses. As you can see, Adolfo and I enjoyed the services there. Fortunately, their only negotiable pleasures today involve food and liquor.

Before we left town, we went for a hike up to a real lake. It seemed this was the only way to get away from the tourists. When we returned at about 7pm, the entire town had shut down. The cruise ships were getting ready to leave. We were happy to board our ferry and head back to the more quiet and authentic little town, Haines.