Ester Gold Camp -
The Malemute Saloon
"A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malemute saloon; The
kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune..."
--From "The Shooting of Dan McGrew," by Robert Service
At the
Malemute
Saloon, where Alaska poet Robert Service wrote some of
his most famous poems, tourists can swig dark Alaska ale, watch comic skits of yesteryear
and toss peanut shells right on the sawdust floor.
[Photo courtesy of Julie Coghill.]
"Service With a Smile," a collection of
musical comic sketches (with songs and dances authentic from the era) and Robert Service
poetry, plays at 9 p.m. daily through the summer season (see our
events calendar for dates). The show celebrates gold rush
lore surrounding the old Ester, Eva and Cripple Creek settlements. Additional shows run at
7 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays in July. The cost is $15 for adults and
$7.50 for children 3-12 (must be accompanied by a parent or legal
guardian). (Their home page is usually updated rather late, so these
prices and times may change). http://www.akvisit.com/ester.html
As another show option, visitors can watch a slide show of
the northern lights put to symphony music. LeRoy Zimmerman's "The Crown of
Light" plays at the nearby Firehouse Theater daily at 6:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., with a
third show at 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday in July. Prices are $8 for adults and
$4
for children.
There is also a gourmet camp-style buffet at the Ester Gold Camp
restaurant, located just yards away. The specialty is, dungeness crab from the icy waters
of Yakutat. Waters from that Southeast Alaska village are said to produce the largest
dungeness crab in the world. The buffet includes all-you-can-eat Alaska
Crab, fried chicken, baked Alaskan Cod, rice pilaf, salad bar, steamed
vegetables, corn on the cob, baked beans, reindeer stew, biscuits, baked
apple crisp and cake. All the food is made fresh. Beverages are included.
This dinner buffet is served from 5-9 p.m. daily for $28.00.
In the style of a mining camp, diners eat on long picnic-style tables and in
the same bunkhouse used by miners working the dredges for the Fairbanks Exploration Co. in
the 1920s through the 1950s.
The bunkhouse above the dining room has been renovated into hotel rooms for
those with a taste for "roughing it". Rates range from $55 to $90. Each room has
a sink and every two rooms share a shower and toilet. There are no phones or televisions
in the rooms. RV parking is charged $15 which includes showers and dump station, no
hookups. A tent site will cost you $10.
A complimentary roundtrip shuttle bus makes nightly pickups from all major
hotels in Fairbanks. Reservations are necessary; (907) 479-2500. Ester is six miles west
of Fairbanks on the Parks Highway. Take the Parks Highway west six miles, turn right on
the Old Nenana Highway, right on Village Road, and left at the intersection. A right at
the intersection will take you to the Golden Eagle Saloon, a casual locals' bar with
photographs of old-time area mining operations and $1 drafts. Central office for this and
the Salmon Bake, etc.:(907) 452-7274.
For more on the community of Ester and other things to see there,
visit our Ester Community page.
