Red Onion Saloon

The Red Onion Saloon is one of Skagway's most visited establishments, part bar and part living history exhibit. The building dates from 1898 and operated as a saloon and brothel during the gold rush. The upstairs has been converted into a small museum with guided tours that explain how the brothel functioned and who worked there.

The bar itself is a good place for a drink on the main street downtown, and the gold rush atmosphere — however commercialised — is broadly faithful to what this part of Broadway once was. It gets crowded when cruise ships are in; evenings are more relaxed.

bars and cafes bar sight
A story
During the gold rush the Red Onion operated as a saloon downstairs and a brothel upstairs. The doll display at the bar — where dolls lying flat indicated a room was occupied and upright dolls signalled availability — is a piece of gold rush social history that the bar now uses as a selling point for its museum tours.