HISTORY OF THE HALL

Historic Hall was originally the 1st Avenue Bath House, built next door to the Masonic Temple in 1907. Melted ice blocks from rivers and ponds provided soft water for the bath house. Opened by Mrs. Cora Madole, who had worked as a fortune teller in Dawson City, there were three bath stalls inside and a steam room slab for massages; off each of the bath stalls were small rooms where the customers rested and dried off. In the winter of 1909-10 the pipes in the Bathhouse froze solid and she went out of business. In 1913 it became the local chapter of the Oddfellows Hall and the Golden North Rebekah Lodge.

What people are saying about Historic Hall:

"If you are interested in Alaska history,

do yourself a favor and drop in to

Historic Hall. Then make sure that your

summer visitors do the same."    

— Dermot Cole, Daily News-Miner columnist

"This collection [of Alaska ephemera] is

unique in all the world."

—Terrence Cole, UAF Office of Public History