We arrived in Skagway before daylight and stayed until after dark. So, our first sight this morning was of Skagway. Our ship pulled into the berth that aligned with the main street.
This now-retired rotary snow plow train was built in 1898 and used until 1964. It has been restored and is on display.
The Skagway Centennial statue was erected in 1997 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the gold rush. It shows a member of the Tlingit tribe as a packer showing the way to the gold fields.
The Arctic Brotherhood Hall was used by the fraternal brotherhood established in 1899. Its façade is made up of 8800 bits of driftwood. See Atlas Obscura for a greater description of the club. The quoted material below is from that website.
“The club was formed by a group of gold prospectors who arrived in Skagway from the City of Seattle ocean steamer, to set off for the Klondike gold fields seeking fortune. The club was a place for miners to connect and look out for each other. The local meeting hall, dubbed Camp Skagway No. 1, started with 11 members and soon grew to 300. Over time, the Brotherhood spread to other mining camps and at its height in the early 1900s had swelled to around 10,000 members.”
The Red Onion Saloon was established in 1989 as a brothel.
Kirmse’s Clock was painted on the rock face between 1898 and 1900. It is 75 feet high and 50 feet wide.
The Golden North Hotel was built in 1898 as the Klondike Trading Company, but has been a hotel since 1908.
The Skagway Railroad Building houses the offices for the White Pass & Yukon Railroad.
In our next post we will ride the White Pass & Yukon Railroad.
Mark
