10-15-18
Homer Alaska, The Salty Dawg Saloon
The Salty Dawg started out as 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.
I did not know there was ever a "railroad station" in Homer, Alaska", but the information above is from the Salty Dawg Saloon Web Page. So this winter I will have a little bit of history to learn on some cold night.
Earl D. Hillstrand, (the owner at the time), after the March 1964 Good Friday earthquake, 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.
Those of you familiar with the show "Deadliest Catch", you may have seen the bar. The interior decor, is well, let's say different. If you type "Deadliest Catch Salty Dawg Saloon" in a search engine you will get offered some video choices. The wall at times are covered with a lot of dollar bills, and ball caps.
The Homer Spit is about 4.5-mile long piece of land that pokes out into Kachemak Bay, during really big tides and storm surges it is not a very safe road to drive one, Kind of exciting though when only a moderately high tide with winds and the ocean spray blasting your car. Wikipedia has a nice page on the Homer spit, and the page has a little bit more about the railroad.
