Ketchikan Historic Park or Site
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Historic Park or Site
The art of totem pole carving was a luxury that experienced its heyday in the mid-1700s to the late 1800s. The fur trade had provided the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples a newfound sense of wealth – and time to focus on the artistry of the totem
Nearly a century ago in 1903, this was the small mining and fishing town’s red-light district but today the boardwalk street, propped up over Ketchikan Creek on wooden pilings, teems with gift shops, museums and well-preserved homes.
Seeing what the glaciers left behind is as stunning as viewing the glaciers themselves. Imagine the force it took to carve U‑shaped valleys with 3,000-foot sheer cliffs rising above the water (not to mention that they extend another 1000-feet below water!)