Skagway, Alaska Gold Rush, Railroad, and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

There is something about Skagway that stands out from other places I have visited. It is hard to identify one individual thing that makes it unique, but rather a stunning combination of not only its landscape and beauty, but also its colorful history, legendary tales, and location.

It (and the nearby ghost town of Dyea) was the starting place beginning in 1897 for more than 40,000 goldrush stampeders who headed for the Yukon via the Chilkoot Trail. The White Pass & Yukon Railroad was constructed in 1898, and Skagway boomed to a population of 8,000 to 10,000, according to a year-by-year account in the newspaper “Skaguay Alaskan”. Skagway, the northernmost city on Alaska’s Inside Passage, was the first incorporated city in Alaska in 1900. At that time, the population was 3,117.

White Pass Railroad Depot -- Note the year 1900 centered below Railroad Building

The Anvil Gold Mines in the Yukon were served by the railroad, which also provided freight, fuel and transportation to Whitehorse. Many locals were employed until 1982, when the Mine closed. In 1979, the construction of the Klondike Highway gave Skagway a link to the Alaska Highway.

A lot of history unfolded in the year-by-year newspaper account mentioned above. For the years 2013-2016, it was interesting to note that visitor numbers rebounded with the advent of huge 3,000-passenger ships, and a floating dock was added at the railroad dock. Also, most of the people from Skagway called themselves Skagwegians as the population nearly tripled in summer to deal with more than a million visitors.

Thursday, June 9, 2016…

The Norwegian Sun docked in Skagway at 5:30 a.m. We enjoyed a full day of exploring until our boarding time at 7:45 p.m.

Norwegian Sun at the dock in Skagway

Skagway’s Original Street Car…

Sabrina was waiting at the end of the pier ashore with one of Skagway’s Original Street Cars. This car she was driving is a 1927 Mack Model AB restored April 2001 by Boyd Coddington.

One of Skagway's Original Street Cars

1927 Mack Model AB restored April 2001 by Boyd Coddington

As Sabrina toured us around Skagway, she shared legendary tales about Skagway that included fortune seekers, lawlessness, and Soapy Smith. This is a place where the romance and excitement of yesteryear still linger. Had we not known better, we might have thought we were in the middle of a Hollywood movie set.

Broadway...

Broadway is part of a seven-block corridor that runs in a northerly direction from the docks. It is one of the main streets in the downtown area, and is lined with interesting shops. Features include historic-fronted shops, restaurants, wooden buckboard sidewalks, locals in period costumes, restored buildings, and a backdrop of spectacular scenery. Many are part of the National Park Service-managed Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.

Shops have been woven tastefully into the historical fabric of Skagway so our shopping experience included standing on floors that contained history, and sitting on benches where residents like illustrious Soapy Smith would have sat. To illustrate this historical weaving, the following photo has, on the left side of the street, the Loom, the Red Onion Saloon, Milano Diamond Gallery, AB Hall with the date of 1899 over its entryway, and much more. On the right side, diagonally across from the Red Onion, we visited the Klondike Gold Rush Historical Visitor Center on the corner with two entrances, one from Second Avenue and one from Broadway. The Visitor Center is better viewed in a later photo looking south on Broadway when we head back to the ship. On the left, just beyond the first (bright yellow) building at Third Avenue is the Sweet Tooth Café. At the far end of that block at Fourth Avenue is the brown with yellow letters “Pantheon” sign (look under the bottom of the speed limit sign). The Pantheon is the Jr. Ranger Activity Center (National Park Service). Continuing on the same side, just across Fourth Avenue on the corner is Del Sol, which features clothing, accessories that change color in the sun and more. Next to Del Sol is the Alaska Christmas Store. Skagway has a mixture of old and new, including an Ace Hardware and a Radio Shack.

You can click on any photo to enlarge it.

The renovated turn-of-the-century buildings bring the Gold Rush Era back to life.

Use your imagination and you might still hear the echoing cries from the steep canyon walls of “gold in the Yukon”! The current population is estimated between 800 and 1,000, but given a day when three ships dock on the same day, you may feel like you have stepped into a modern-day version of the Gold Rush.

Our tour guide shared with us that it is during the modern-day version of the Gold Rush when Skagway welcomes many people, like herself. She is an experienced employee who returns to Skagway year after year to work a seasonal job created due to the masses of tourists welcomed to her dock on cruise ships.

The Skagway Centennial Statue is the centerpiece  of Centennial Park.  It depicts the scene of a gold rush trail with a Tlingit packer leading an eager prospector.

Skagway Centennial Statue was completed in 1997 during the Centennial Celebrations. 

Sabrina showed us many sites and shared many things about Skagway, including pointing out the “oldest” house in Skagway as we passed by the side street. It has the white picket fence around it.

Oldest House in Skagway

Other interesting facts included the price of a gallon of milk being seven dollars a gallon. The attendance of the entire high school is approximately one hundred students. We passed by an RV park in Skagway. The monthly cost for a site was $1600 if you wanted full hookups. Only a few full-hookup sites were available.

Sabrina dressed in authentic costume, shared legendary tales about Skagway including Soapy Smith...

Sign left of center says "Klondike Gold Fields".

To all Points of Interest -- Nothing like it in the World 

Here we were only a half mile from Yukon Territory; had we traveled up this road, we would have had to have our passports to return to Skagway.

Instead we made a 90-degree turn left and traveled to a turnaround where we could get another view of Skagway and an overview of the dock and our ship.

The Norwegian Sun docked in Skagway.

View overlooking the seven block corridor below with the steep, spectacular wall of scenery beyond, from a park-like setting high above the town...

Skagway has a lot of history with much to see and is a fun place to shop. At the end of our tour, we were free to do more sightseeing in Skagway and enjoy more shops.

Red Onion Saloon

Between 1908 and 1910, a number of buildings were relocated to Broadway from other parts of the city to develop a business district concentrated around the rail line. The Red Onion Saloon was one of the buildings relocated to its present location.

Red Onion Saloon

Arctic Brotherhood

The fraternal order emerged from the Klondike Gold Rush. It established itself in 1899 in the boomtowns of Skagway, Bennett, Atlin, and Dawson City. Then it spread into Interior Alaska all the way to Nome before it faded away in the 1920s. Only a few Arctic Brotherhood halls still stand in the North, including this ornate structure in Skagway (and also one in Dawson). It’s motto was “No Boundary Line Here”.

Arctic Brotherhood Hall

Closeup of Entrance to AB Building with date of 1899 over the entrance

Shops on Second Avenue across from the Railroad Building where the shuttle picked us up to return us to the ship:

Skagway Mining Company Building

Skagway Mining Co. building

Diamonds International

Broadway Looking South

The National Park Service Visitor Center is on the left. To our right is The Loom, and the Alaska Shirt Company. The railroad track that we cross is a side track that comes from the railroad dock main track at our far left. The side track has sidings for the Broadway Dock and the Ore Terminal/Dock at our far right.

Looking south on Broadway as we return to the ship.

View from dining room window of the channel we travel through when we leave Skagway.

Tonight we enjoyed more music as we headed back to our room for the night. 

Thank you everyone for visiting and following this adventure with my sister and me. Feel free to make comments. Next we will dock in Juneau, the capital of Alaska, where more excitement is in store as we photograph the whales.

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