Palace Saloon and Chena Hotel
The Palace Hotel, now standing at Alaskaland,
originally stood near the corner of Cushman and Fourth Avenue.
It existed as early as 1910 at its Cushman location, next door to Harry Cribb's
hardware and building materials store.
History
First called the Palace Hotel, the words ``and Bathhouse'' were added when bathing
facilities opened to serve local miners. In the first part of the century, that area of
downtown was near the ``red-light'' district, a row of small cabins on Fourth Avenue
between Cushman and Barnette in which prostitution was tolerated behind a high protective
fence.
The Palace was outside, but near, ``the Line,'' as residents called the walled
compound. It is an example of commercial buildings in early downtown Fairbanks, consisting
of peeled logs chinked with cement with different window types throughout.
In 1906, fire destroyed most of the downtown buildings, but the hotel
survived in nearly its original condition. In 1957, it was renamed the Chena Hotel,
and was moved to Alaskaland in 1967, where it stands across the street from the
Palace Saloon.
Golden Heart Revue
The "Golden Heart Revue," a collection of musical comedy sketches
performed nightly at the Palace Saloon. It seeks to use humor to answer the question of
why anyone would build a city in Fairbanks.
See our events page for season dates. Show time is 8:15 p.m. daily,
with a 6:45 show added when needed. Tickets in 2009 were $18 for adults and $9 for children ages
3 to 12. Call (907) 456-5960 for reservations.
http://www.akvisit.com/palace.html