Cribs and Wayside

These "Houses of Negotiable Affection" were occupied and used by sex workers during the gold rush.

NPS Photo/A. Rogers

Quick Facts

Location:

Skagway, AK

Significance:

These small buildings served as places of work and residences for sex workers in Skagway during the Klondike Gold Rush.

Designation:

NHP and part of an NHL

Amenities

2 listed

Accessible Sites, Benches/Seating

The buildings in front of you are called cribs; these are two of many small buildings in Skagway that were occupied and used by sex workers. During the gold rush, sex workers came from all over the world and all different walks of life. Some women came of their own volition, following the stampeders and seeking to make a living here in the North. Others were forced into the trade.  

Prostitution could be found all over Skagway during its early days as a young gold rush boomtown. By the turn of the twentieth century, sex work was confined to Skagway’s “Restricted District”, which was relocated frequently until it eventually shut down in 1917. 

These buildings that you stand in front of were moved several times since their construction, serving as cribs, garden sheds, and even small stores before eventually becoming part of the national park. The chimneys tell us that these cribs were used as full-time residences.