Gone, but forever notorious:
bars of Southwest Alaska
COLD BAY
Weathered Inn: 1984 – 2002
KODIAK
Beachcombers 1944 - 1992. 1855 Mission Road
Belmont 1940 - 1958
Breaker’s: 1953 - 2004. Owned by Fred and Ruth Brechan, who also owned the Breakers Bar in Nome.
Casino: 1944 - 1964
Diamond Jim’s (aka Harvester Inn): 1990 - 2003
Idle Hour: 1944 – 1964
Montmartre: 1942 – 1972 see War Discovers Alaska book
Ship’s Tavern: 1940 - 1993
Solly’s Office: 1966 – 1992. Named for the three phone booths inside, the bar doubled as an office for many fisherman.
UNALASKA
Elbow Room: 1966 – 2005. First known as the Blue Fox when it opened in 1942, this bar earned a reputation for being rough and rowdy. When I visited for the first time in 1992, a man picked a fight with my host (the City Planner for Unalaska) just 5 minutes after we walked in the door.