Alaska Cruise: Skagway (8/2/2019)

Friday, August 2, 2019 (continued)
After lunch in the Garden Café, we disembarked once again to explore the town of Skagway.

It seems Skagway is half a National Historical Park (KSS)

Skagway Centennial Statue (1997, by
Chuck Buchanan) shows a Tlingit native guiding
a Klondike gold rusher along the White Pass Trail

White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad Rotary Snowplow #1 (1898)

Steam Locomotive #52 (1881, sold to White Pass in 1898
as its first engine)

The Klondike Gold Rush brought a stampede of miners, who reached Skagway by ship, then traveled by foot on the White Pass or Chilkoot Trail to Lake Bennett, then again by boat to the Yukon River. Thousands of horses died carrying loads on the White Pass Trail, and it was quickly determined that a railroad should be built. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad route (1898-1900) is considered an engineering wonder and is narrow-gauge to manage tight turns. It climbs from sea level in Skagway to almost 3,000 feet at the summit in just 20 miles and features steep grades of almost 4%.

White Pass & Yukon Route Train Station (1969)

The original White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad Depot (1898-1899) is
now the Visitor Center for the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

Broadway in Skagway

Golden North Hotel (1898) was a classic gold rush hotel

The Mascot Saloon (c 1898) was one of only three Skagway saloons
out of 100 to survive until local prohibition in 1916

Skagway Brewing Company (established 1897-closed 1904,
re-established 1997-2002, and again in 2007)

Moore Homestead started as a log cabin in 1887, with further
additions enlarging the home up to 1904; the log cabin was
then separated from the house to stand alone

Moore Log Cabin (1897) is the oldest structure in Skagway

Moore Homestead interior with Native
fur slippers and animal pelts

1951 Chevy truck

Wells Fargo Bank (1916, as the National Bank of Alaska)

Skagway City Hall and Museum (1899, as a Methodist McCabe College;
in 1901 it became US Courthouse and jail until 1956, since 1961
it was the Skagway City Hall and Museum)

McCabe College was the first school in Alaska to offer a college preparatory course, and the building is unusual in that it is made with local granite.

Days of '98 Show is still running since Bert & Ada visited in 1984;
in the Fraternal Order of Eagles Building (1898, as the Mondamin Hotel)

"In 1923, Princess steamships started bringing tourists to Skagway. The local residents decided to put on a show for them to raise money for their local hockey team. The team needed new uniforms so that they could compete in the White Pass Athletic League against their rival team in Whitehorse, Yukon. The show became an instant tradition and has been running ever since."

Arctic Brotherhood Hall (1899) is an example of
Victorian Rustic Architecture; lodge members
collected driftwood to nail to the façade 

We returned to the ship, and later had dinner at La Cucina, a restaurant that charged à la carte from the menu. We went to the Garden Café for free dessert!

Traveling down the Lynn Canal, an Alaskan fjord

Next: At Sea: Glacier Bay.