Snapshots of the Past

Town Hall and Soapy Smith's" saloon" – Vintage Print

Town Hall and Soapy Smith's" saloon", [between ca. 1900 and ca. 1930] — historic photograph
Town Hall and Soapy Smith's" saloon", [between ca. 1900 and ca. 1930]. Historic photograph from the Taverns & Saloons collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with Town Hall and Soapy Smith's" saloon", a historic photograph rich in period detail. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

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Town Hall and Soapy Smith's" saloon"

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Skagway's Town Hall and the saloon attached to the name of Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith make an odd pairing, and this print captures that contrast in a single frame. Smith ran a crooked gambling and confidence operation in the Klondike gold rush town during 1897 and 1898 before a shootout with vigilantes ended his life on the waterfront. The photograph's caption links the civic building and the saloon, a reminder of how quickly the boomtown's respectable institutions sat alongside its lawless trade. The print is one of a group gathered by Frank and Frances Carpenter, the travel writers and photographers.

Created / published[between ca. 1900 and ca. 1930]
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1890-1940.
NotesTitle transcribed from caption accompanying item. Forms part of: Frank and Frances Carpenter collection (Library of Congress). Gift; Mrs. W. Chapin Huntington; 1951.
SubjectsCity & town halls--Alaska--Skagway--1890-1940. Bars--Alaska--Skagway--1890-1940.United States--Alaska--Skagway
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan944 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-160254

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