Historic
Skagway
Source: Wikipedia
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Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park
The Skagway unit includes much of the historic downtown such
as buildings owned and restored by NPS and others, some
leased even today for ordinary commercial purposes to
recreate the city's bustling activity. The visitor center in
Skagway is located in railroad depot building at Second and
Broadway and is a good place to begin tours either led by a
ranger or self-guided. Junior rangers can plan their
activities further and earn their badges further up Broadway
at the Pantheon Saloon.
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White Pass & Yukon Route Railway Broadway Depot
Corner of 2nd Avenue and Broadway
Now serving as the park's Visitors Center and Headquarters,
the depot was the first building the railway built for this
purpose, completed in December 1898. The structure served
this purpose at least until the 1950s. However, together
with the adjoining administration building and the railway
itself, these were taken over by the U.S. Army Railway
Operating Battalion from 1942 to 1946 to supply construction
of the Alaska Highway, the first land route to Alaska, then
under construction in adjoining British Columbia and Yukon
Territory as part of the war effort. It was the only
commercial railway in the United States taken over for this
purpose. The building was transferred to NPS in 1976 with
restoration completed in 1984, returning its appearance to
the 1908-1915 time period.
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White Pass & Yukon Route Railway Administration
Building
2nd Avenue, east of Broadway
The bottom floor houses the park museum while additional
park offices are located upstairs. Located next to the
depot, the Daily Alaskan noted during the year of its
completion in its May 3, 1900 edition that it the railway's
headquarters was "by far the finest wooden structure in the
city". As with the depot, it was vacated in 1969,
transferred to NPS in 1976, with restoration completed in
1984.
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Martin Itjen's House
Broadway between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue
The building serves as the NPS and Parks Canada Trail
Center, and is one of the first structures visitors to the
park arriving by ship see. Originally it stood on piers by
the wharf, completed in 1902, and is reminiscent of homes
built for railway employees. In 1922, it was sold to Martin
Itjen who had learned to profit from the summer tourist
trade by greeting passers-by and selling tours of the town's
attractions. Relocation of railway tracks in 1946 isolated
the house, which after two intermediate moves ended up on
Sixth. NPS acquired the structure in 1978, moving it to its
current position 300 feet (92 m) west of its original
location. Restoration was completed in 1991 to return the
home to the 1921-1941 period.
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Jeff Smith's Parlor
2nd Avenue west of Broadway
The building was most famously used as a base of operations
by con man and outlaw Jefferson "Soapy" Smith who ended up
in Alaska by way of Denver. He and his gang defrauded and
tricked miners for only three months before Smith was shot
to death in spectacular fashion on the Skagway wharf. Martin
Itjen bought the saloon in 1922, and outfitted it as a
museum with animatronic figures of Soapy Smith and his
associates. Even after selling it in 1950, the museum
remained in operation until 1986. Donated to NPS in 2007,
the building was refurbished to its old glory as it would
have been seen by visitors back in 1967, and reopened in
April 2016.
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Verbauwhede's Cigar Store, Confectionery, and Cribs
Broadway between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue
Frederick Verbauwhede originally opened a store selling
cigars and confections here in 1898, and in 1902 moved
one-story "cribs" behind the store from their previous
location between Fourth and Fifth where they housed
prostitutes. A gunsmith, jeweler, gas station and travel
agency occupied the premises at one time or another through
1977 when NPS purchased the buildings. Restored in 1986, the
cigar store is leased to a private business while the cribs
are used by the park's law enforcement operations.
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Boas Tailor & Furrier Shop
Broadway between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue
As the name implies, it was formerly, though briefly, a
furrier, topped by a traditional high wooden false front as
seen in other western towns in the United States and Canada.
After a series of other business, it was sold to NPS in 1978
with period restoration completed in 1986. It is now leased
to private business to encourage a feeling of Skagway as a
center of bustling business activity.
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Pacific Clipper Line Office
Broadway near 3rd Avenue
First serving the considerable steamship trade that brought
passengers to Skagway that lack other means of access, the
building later became a liquor store before Skagway was hit
by municipal prohibition in 1916 and other uses were found
for it. NPS acquired the building in 1976, and after
restoration began leasing it to private business in 1990.
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Mascot Saloon
Corner of Broadway and 3rd Avenue.
The saloon opened in 1898 and unlike few others survived as
bar through prohibition in Skagway in 1916. After that it
was used as a drugstore and for other purposes until it was
transferred to NPS in 1976. It was restored to its post-rush
period appearance and reopened as an exhibit in 1990.
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Lynch and Kennedy Dry Goods Store
Broadway between 3rd Avenue and 4th Avenue
Originally built in 1900 as barracks for the all-black
Company L 24th Infantry. The building was moved from Sixth
to Broadway and a false front was added in order to open a
haberdashery and dry goods store in the location in
September 1908. The Daily Alaskan described the store as
"just about the most handsomest in the city". All the same
it closed by 1920, and thereafter served variously as a
restaurant and again as barracks before being purchased by
NPS in 1977. Restoration was completed in 1990, returning it
to the 1908-1915 time period. It is leased to a private
business.
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Pantheon Saloon
Corner of Broadway and 4th Avenue
Though a hardware store in 1898, the Pantheon became a
saloon in 1903 and stayed in business until municipal
prohibition in 1916. It served varied functions before being
sold to NPS in 1977. Now restored to its 1903-1916
appearance, the Pantheon invites in young visitors to
explore the park and earn their Junior Ranger patches.
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Moore Homestead
Between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue, east of Broadway
The first homestead in Skagway, which predates the gold rush
era.
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Peniel Mission
Eastern end of 6th Avenue
Originally a Christian mission, now used as modest housing
for the park's seasonal employees.
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This page was last updated on November 14, 2017.