ketchikan

Ketchikan, Alaska

Ketchikan is the name of the southernmost city in Alaska. It is located on the southwest side of Revillagigedo island (the 9th largest island in Alaska) in the southeast part of Alaska.It is commonly the first city which the cruise ships visit on their tours of the inland passage. It's a city of 7,685 people. We arrived at 6:30am after sailing through one night, all day and the second night and docked at Berth 4.

Ketchikan was initially settled by three major Indian tribes, the Tlingit (Klink-it), Haidas (Hi-duh) and the Tsimshians (Shim-shian). The first white settlers (Vitus Bering) arrived 1741. The settlements began with interests in both mining and fishing. The first salmon cannery moved to Ketchikan in 1886, operating under the name of Tongrass Packing Co.. It burned down in August 1889. Gold was discovered nearby in 1898. Ketchikan was incorporated in 1900.

As mining waned, the fishing industry began to grow. By the 1930s, more than a dozen salmon canneries had been built. During the peak years of the canned salmon industry, Ketchikan earned the title of Salmon Capital of the World. But over fishing caused a drastic decline in salmon by the 1940s. Today, Southeast Alaska accounts for slightly more than half the pink salmon harvested in Alaska.

As fishing reached a low point, the timber industry expanded. The first sawmill was originally built in 1898 at Dolomi on Prince of Wales Island to cut timber for the Dolomi Mine. It was dismantled and moved to Ketchikan and rebuilt in 1903. A large pulp mill was constructed a few miles northwest of town in 1953. It closed in 1997.

Tourism is an extremely important industry here. Ketchikan is Alaska's fifth largest city (after Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks and Sitka)and is the first port of call on the Alaska Marine Highway's northbound Inside Passage.

A WALK AROUND KETCHIKAN

Since we had been in Ketchikan before, we decided not to take a formal tour but created our own tour of the town beginning with views from the Ship. Below are some images of the sights. The first 4 images were taken from our balcony. As we left the ship, we saw the reflected pillions in the water which doubled their size. We turned right from the Ship and headed downtown passing by Arctic Bar, St John's Episcopal Church, built in 1902, is the oldest church building standing in Ketchikan.

CREEK STREET AND DOLLY'S HOUSE

The area of Creek Street became a red-light district in 1903, when the City Council ordered bordellos to relocate across the creek from town site. More than 30 bawdy houses, most with one or two working girls, lined the creek over the years. With Prohibition, some houses became speakeasies, row boats slipped on high tides and liquor was lifted through trap doors in bordello's floors. The city outlawed prostitution in 1953 and Creek Street became a mixed residential and commercial area. Star Building at No. 5 Creek Street, once a dance hall, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Dolly Arthur (Dolly's House was Ketchikan's most famous Madam in the heyday of Creek Street. Her house, preserved much as she left it, features antiques, caches and garish decor. We did take a tour of the house.

Ketchikan