Red Onion Saloon

The Red Onion Saloon stands on Broadway in Skagway, Alaska, a town that boomed as a gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 1890s. Established in 1898, the building operated as a saloon and, upstairs, as a brothel serving the flood of prospectors and workers passing through on their way to the goldfields. Today it survives within Skagway's well-preserved historic district and operates as a bar and a small brothel museum interpreting that raucous era.

As a former gold-rush brothel, the Red Onion has gathered a reputation for hauntings, with stories often centred on the women who once worked there. Staff and visitors report footsteps, unexplained scents and other phenomena, particularly on the upper floor, and the site leans into this history through its tours. These accounts are anecdotal and subjective, best understood as part of the saloon's colourful folklore rather than as documented fact.

The saloon's real value lies in its vivid connection to the social history of the Klondike Gold Rush, including the often-overlooked lives of frontier women. Preserved as part of Skagway's remarkable historic streetscape, it offers a candid, human glimpse of a boomtown past.

The Red Onion Saloon is a privately operated bar and brothel museum, generally open seasonally in line with Skagway's summer visitor and cruise-ship season; the saloon serves food and drink, while the upstairs museum and costumed tours are offered for a fee. Hours are seasonal, so checking ahead is sensible.

As a working bar with historic stairs and upper-floor rooms, some areas may not be accessible to all, and the brothel-history content is aimed at adult interest. Visitors are asked to respect staff, other patrons and the historic character of the building and its neighbourhood.