The Pantheon Saloon Complex

ARCHEOLOGY

The Pantheon Saloon Complex lies inside the Skagway Historic District on the corner of Fourth and Broadway. In addition to the Pantheon building, our investigations were also concerned with the vacant land south and west of the Pantheon. The archeology map shows all the areas that were investigated from 1987, and 1995-1997.

The excavations in the vacant lots uncovered features relating to other businesses or to the public utilities installed at various times behind or under buildings. Three trash dumps were found in the vacant areas, and two were probably used primarily by the Rainier Hotel. The relationship was supported by the large number of food related artifacts, bones, ceramics, and soda bottles. The third dump also had artifacts that could relate to a different hotel.

At the base of all the dumps were privy or privy-like deposits. The historic photographs support the location of the outhouses. Seeds and pollen samples taken from the privies was sent to a lab for analysis. The information will be used to reconstruct the diets of the early settlers.

Excavations beneath the flooring in the Pantheon Complex produced some of the best finds dating back to the Gold Rush. Underneath the west end of the Pantheon Saloon a large depression was found. It was filled with WW II era beer bottles and construction debris. Beneath that was a deep privy deposit. Many artifacts were recovered, including about thirty to forty small vials. The vials could have contained some kind of drug. Gambling paraphenalia was also recovered from the privy.

In 1997 the restoration crew started the deconstruction of the Pantheon. Much of the work during this time period involved recording architectural features and collecting wallpaper samples. A complete photographic record was made of the Pantheon prior to the major demolition.

The archeology conducted at the Pantheon complex has corroborated much of the written record. It has also much to contribute to history that was never committed to paper. Much of the next year will be spent putting together a report that illuminates what archeology can tell the public about boom to bust life in Skagway, Alaska.

Future Reports

The Klondike Gold Rush Park is preparing several reports on past excavations. If you would like to get on the mailing list to receive copies of upcoming reports, send our Cultural Resource Specialist an E-mail message with your name, address, and affiliation. In process are reports on the Lynch & Kennedy, Block 39, Moore House and Pantheon complex.

View some of the artifacts