Skagway became a port of entry to the Yukon in the Alaska Gold Rush Days
Skagway, Alaska
Every day in the summer, thousands of cruise ship visitors walk down the gangplank and into the town of only about 600 or so permanent residents. Officially listed in the 2010 census as a population of 920, some of the residents head south for the winter once the tourist season is over. The summer population probably numbers around 2000, most of the summer residents work in the tourist industry.
The town is in a protected passageway but the name Skagway is from the Native American word, Skagua and means “windy place”
Skagway has the capability of supporting thousands of visitors on any given day. Our 13-hour stay in Skagway was shared with passengers from four cruise ships. With such a long day, we ended up on three of the Norwegian Cruise Line sponsored excursions. The first two were tours of the town, and the last, a train ride on the White Pass Railway through some of Alaska’s scenic beauty into Canada. Today’s post features highlights from the tours in town. Next week, I will share a gallery of images taken along the rail line to White Pass.
Several of the original saloons with bordello upstairs still stands. The red lights in the upstairs windows invite lonely miners to a few moments of pleasure
Our first tour gave us an insight into the lives of the prospectors who used Skagway as a starting point to head to the Yukon in search of that elusive gold mine. In the 1890s, with thousands of men, women, shall we say “lacking in virtue,” found their gold in their bodies. Our first excursion, “Good Time Girls Walking Tour” focused on the lives of those women. The second tour was a more typical “bus tour” around the city, stopping at various points of interest.
I submit for your entertainment, a gallery of photos taken at Skagway, Alaska. Click on one of the photos below to see an enlarged view and scroll through the gallery.
A small stream skirts the edge of town
A mountain backdrop adds to the charm of the old town
Miss Esse X shared the story of the Good Time Girls of Skagway
Many of the second stories of saloons have a “door to nowhere” that, during the night, had ladders for customers who wished to visit the “girls” without going through the saloon
During the gold rush, many of these little red buildings featured two small beds and a curtained divider for the two “business women” to share
All that remains of an early building is its fireplace and chimney
During the rush, the hillsides had hand painted billboards like this one along the cliff edges
This unusual building was faced with hundreds of small sticks
After our walking tour, we were treated to a glass of the “bubbly” as we toured the upstairs of the Red Onion
The old knob and tube wiring is still functional
A view from the second story of the Red Onion
Our bus tour started near one of the larger snow augers used by the White Pass Railway to keep the tracks open in the winter
“Soapy” Smith and his gang of thugs ran the town until one fateful day
Our tour guide provided all the details of how Soapy Smith met his end at the hand of Frank Reid
In the morning, one of the red lights in the upstairs window was burned out. It was replaced later in the day
Unless you arrive from Canada, the only way into or out of Skagway is by air or sea
The airport is in the foreground in this view of the city taken on our bus tour
Flare Legend Adventures
[…] You can read more about my visit to Skagway and see a gallery of images from the gateway to the goldrush here. […]