Red Onion Saloon

The Red Onion Saloon is a historic-themed saloon that caters to locals and visitors alike, blending entertainment with efforts to share the history of the Klondike Gold Rush. The saloon was built in 1897 during the height of the gold rush and added a brothel the following year. The building has been used for many different purposes over the years. It has been used as a popular dance hall, army barracks, a bakery, a laundry shop, a union hall, a gift shop, and even a television station.

Captain William Moore is regarded as the founder of Skagway and visitors to the saloon can still see the original wood planks that Moore cut. The staff wears period clothing and strives to blend a measure of historical accuracy within the establishment.

The ten rooms upstairs housed the women who worked at the brothel and included multiple exits to provide at least a modicum of safety for the sex workers who traveled to Alaska. To demonstrate the lack of agency the women faced, the brothel created ten dolls that resembled the sex workers. If the dolls were sat up, the corresponding woman was available. If the doll was laid down, that signaled that the women were working at the moment. The rooms upstairs are designed to resemble their appearance when the building was used as a brothel and some area residents believe that this part of the building is haunted.

Red Onion Saloon, The Little House of Horrors. Accessed October 7th, 2022. https://thelittlehouseofhorrors.com/red-onion-saloon/.

Red Onion Saloon - Come See Us!, Red Onion 1898. Accessed October 7th, 2022. https://www.redonion1898.com/.