The Pantheon Saloon Complex

A SHORT HISTORY

Pantheon Building

In August of 1897 when most of the town was still in tent structures, the board and batten 18'x 30' Hotel Rosalie was operating. It served as a flop house for miners on their way to the gold fields. The Hotel Rosalie did not stay long in its original building. By late October 1897 the hotel business was relocated and Clayson's clothier moved in. Click here to see a view of Skagway in late 1897. (The Clayson building is right of center with a white banner)

The clothing store only remained open until December of 1897. In early 1898 D.C. Brownell arrived in Skagway. He purchased the lot and building and opened a hardware store. Late in 1899 the board and batten exterior was covered over with shiplap siding and the eastern facade was turned into a false front. A double door corner entry was installed in the northeast corner of the building.

By 1902, the Klondike Gold Rush had faded and many businesses in Skagway closed in order to follow the next gold rushes in the interior of Alaska. D.C. Brownell moved to Valdez. J. F. Anderson acquired the building sometime in early 1903 and opened the Pantheon Saloon. To the eastern facade, cobbles were set in mortar which created the effect of a stone wall. Driftwood sticks surrounded the cobbles. The design was executed by Charles Walker, who also constructed the driftwood facade of the Arctic Brotherhood Hall. The facades of both buildings are unique to Skagway. The only other major renovation was turning the western twenty feet into a full two-story building. This last renovation was believed to have happened sometime between 1905 and 1908.

The Pantheon was a popular bar until 1916 when local prohibition forced its closure. In an attempt to remain in business, the small saloon windows were replaced with larger plate glass windows. The Pantheon was reopened as a dry goods store. In the mid-1920's, the Pantheon was rented out as a museum of the gold rush.

In early 1942, the Pantheon was granted a license to again operate as a saloon in order to take advantage of the large number of army personnel in Skagway. After WW2, the Pantheon was occupied by the Brown Derby Restaurant. From 1957 until the mid 1970's, the building housed Brownie's Bakery. The last business to occupy the Pantheon was a curio, second-hand store called 'The Second Red Onion'. NPS purchased the property in 1977, and it became a woodshop for the Park's restoration crew.

The Red Front Building

The southern portion of the Pantheon Complex was a two-story paint and wallpaper store during the Gold Rush. A.C. Fasel owned and operated the store from 1898 into 1903, when the business and building were sold. In the last known incarnation the entire eastern facade was painted red and renamed 'The Red Front.' It was a dry goods store until 1916. In late 1916, newspapers reported that the Red Front was remodeled into a movie theater. The length of time the theater was in business is unknown.

The rest of the building history is unclear, but it seems the building stood unoccupied for a number of years and was eventually torn down in the late 30's. The present day building was supposedly constructed in early 1942, when the army took over Skagway. The south addition was used as extra space for dancing and also for liquor storage.

NPS is constructing a new building that will be a replica of the Red Front store. When completed, the buildings will resemble their configuration from between 1903-1908.

Rainier Hotel Block

South of the A.C. Fasel store were three buildings. The largest was the Rainier hotel and restaurant. It was a two-story building that went up sometime in early 1898. It remained a hotel after the gold rush, but may have eventually fallen vacant, like many other Skagway buildings. After WW II it was converted into apartments. The smaller buildings on either side of the Rainier were habitually changing ownership and businesses. These were also converted into apartments along with the Rainier. All the buildings south of the Fasel store were demolished sometime in the 1960's.

Archeology at the Pantheon Complex