Dyea in Skagway, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
Perceptions and Misconceptions
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 24, 2024
1. Perceptions and Misconceptions Marker
[Dance hall] girls wore typical Victorian attire:
long-sleeved, high-collared blouses and long, flared skirts.
The most daring ones revealed a bit of ankle...
Frances Backhouse, Women of the Klondike, 2010
Performers, dance hall girls, and prostitutes-all attempted to "mine the miners" in Skagway's nightlife of the late 1800s and early 1900s, but in different ways. Professional actresses, singers, and other entertainers performed in vaudeville shows. Dance hall girls earned commissions in the saloons by waltzing with males and enticing them into buying many glasses-or bottles-of liquor. Prostitutes worked in one- or two-room cribs in alleyways, upstairs in saloons, or in brothels. A few "ladies of the night" made fortunes and enjoyed lavish lives, indulging in diamond necklaces and champagne baths. A couple of enterprising madams became rich and invested in real estate. To straitlaced Victorians, of course, all of these occupations were suspect.
[Photo captions, top to bottom, read]
The Peoples Theatre, photographed in April 1898, was located on bustling Holly Streetknown today as 6th Avenuejust west of here.
this page online
Dance hall girls worked six to 12 hours a night dancing and hustling drinks for the house. They danced with each man for only a few minutes.
A prostitute stands in front of a crib along an alley west of Broadway on July 4, 1898.
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1898.
Location. 59° 27.326′ N, 135° 18.866′ W. Marker is in Skagway, Alaska. It is in Dyea. It is on an unnamed alley between 5th and 6th Avenues, east of Broadway, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 520 Broadway, Skagway AK 99840, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Alaska, in Tlingit and Haida & Tsimshian Region. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, the Inside Passage, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically,
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 24, 2024
2. Perceptions and Misconceptions Marker
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Harsh Realities (a few steps from this marker); "Necessary Evil" (a few steps from this marker); Goldberg Cigar Shop (a few steps from this marker); Captain Moore's Vision: The Gateway to the Klondike Goldfields (within shouting distance of this marker); A War of Wills: Skagway as a Frontier Town and the Demise of "Mooresville" (within shouting distance of this marker); The Emergence of a Domesticated Landscape: The Homestead Becomes an Urban Residence (within shouting distance of this marker); Mollie Walsh (within shouting distance of this marker); Peniel Mission (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Skagway.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 28, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 182 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 28, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
