Ketchikan in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
20 Creek Street
Circa 1920
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 18, 2012
1. 20 Creek Street Marker
Beatrice Greene; the last working woman
For half a century, this house, like so many on the Creek, was part of Ketchikan’s notorious red light district where both fish and men came upstream to spawn… the fish once, many of the men repeatedly.
Its most infamous resident was Beatrice Greene, who began to ply her trade here in 1947.
In 1954, when authorities brought an end to open prostitution on Creek Street, most of the ladies left town, retired, or moved to other neighborhoods. A few, including Beatrice Greene, simply went underground.
Following the crackdown, she played a game of cat-and-mouse with the local police, entertaining “gentlemen callers” when she thought she could get away with it; lying low when the heat was on.
Erected by Ketchikan Historic Commission.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1920.
Location. 55° 20.51′ N, 131° 38.479′ W. Marker is in Ketchikan, Alaska, in Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Marker can be reached from Creek Street (Alaska Route 7) north of Stedman Street. Marker is mounted directly on the subject building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 20 Creek Street, Ketchikan AK 99901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers.
this page online
More about this marker. Creek Street is actually an elevated boardwalk rather than a street (pedestrian traffic only)
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . . History of Creek Street Has Always Been Commerce.
Seven years after the "closure" of the Creek, the American Social Health Association sent another "undercover" agent to Ketchikan to see whether or not prostitution had gone away with the closure of Creek Street. The investigator determined that of the old time "working girls" on the Creek only Annie Watkins at #4 and Beatrice Greene at #20 were still living on the Creek. (Submitted on December 30, 2017, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 4, 2021
2. 20 Creek Street Marker
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 18, 2012
3. 20 Creek Street (yellow house at left edge of photo)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 21, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 30, 2017, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 437 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 30, 2017, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2. submitted on September 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3. submitted on December 31, 2017, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
