Salty Dawg Saloon

The Salty Dawg Saloon is a famous landmark of the town of Homer, Alaska.

History

The Salty Dawg originally was one of the first cabins built in 1897, soon after Homer became a town site. It served as the first post office, a railroad station, a grocery store, and a coal mining office for twenty years. In 1909 a second building was constructed, and it served as a school house, post office, grocery store. And at one time, it housed three adults and eleven children.

It was acquired in the late 1940s by Chuck Abbatt to be used as an office for Standard Oil Company. In April 1957, he officially opened it as the Salty Dawg Saloon. By 1960 the Salty Dawg Saloon had a building adjacent to it, coinciding with The Alaska Territory becoming the 49th state of the union in January 1959.

Earl Hillstrand, the late State Representative, purchased it in 1960. After the March 1964 "Good Friday" earthquake, he moved the structure to its present location. The distinctive lighthouse tower was added to cover a water storage tank, thus completing one of Homer's more historical and recognizable landmarks.

The Salty Dawg Saloon is currently owned and operated by John Warren.

The saloon has been featured on Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. The bar is known for the thousands of dollar bills signed by visitors and tacked to the walls. Many years ago, a visitor tacked a dollar on the wall explaining that his friend would be by later this was to buy him a drink. [cite news|url=http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=97250|title=Alaska wildlife, spectacular scenery captivate even children|last=Hicks|first=Tony |date=6/29/2008 |work=Contra Costa Times|accessdate=2008-07-27]

References

External links

* [http://www.saltydawgsaloon.com/ Official website]