Departing from Stedman St is Creek St, a boardwalk built over Ketchikan Creek on pilings – a photographer’s delight. This was Ketchikan’s famed red-light district until prostitution became illegal in 1954. During Creek St’s heyday, it supported up to 30 brothels and became known as the only place in Alaska where ‘the fishermen and the fish went upstream to spawn.’ The house with bright red trim is Dolly’s House, a museum dedicated to this notorious era.
It was once the parlor of the city’s most famous madam, Dolly Arthur. You can see the brothel, including its bar, which was placed over a trapdoor to the creek for quick disposal of bootleg whiskey.
