Things to do nearCreek Street

Creek Street traces its origins to the early 1900s, when Ketchikan was a booming cannery and mining town drawing workers from across the Pacific Northwest. The raised boardwalk was constructed over Ketchikan Creek to make use of land that could not otherwise be built upon, and the district quickly became the commercial and social heart of a rougher side of frontier life. For decades it operated as a legal red-light district, and its most famous resident, a woman named Dolly Arthur, ran a brothel there until the 1950s. Her preserved home is now a small museum that offers an unvarnished portrait of that era.

The physical setting is quietly spectacular. The creek below runs cold and fast out of the surrounding rainforest, and during the salmon runs the water seems almost to boil with fish working their way upstream. Bald eagles are a common sight overhead, and the lush Tongass National Forest presses close on the hillside above.

Galleries, gift shops, and a few small cafes now occupy the old buildings, and the area connects naturally to other Ketchikan highlights. The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center is just a short walk away and provides excellent context on the region's ecology and indigenous cultures. Nearby, the Totem Heritage Center houses a remarkable collection of 19th-century totem poles. Creek Street rewards any visitor who takes time to linger.