The Alaskan Cafe was opened on July 1, 1909, in the Arctic Club building at the corner of Third and Jefferson in Seattle, by owners Charles Berryman and Ludovico Dallagiovanna. The image of a dog sled found in the center of the ad shown here is from stained glass piece hung over the entrance to the barroom at the Alaskan Cafe, based on a photograph of dog sled race winners in Nome.
The Alaskan Liquor Company, whose Special Rye is advertised here, was managed by cafe co-owner Berryman, and located in the same building at 501 Third Avenue. The Alaskan Cafe may have been the predecessor of the Alaskan Liquor Company, as the companies appears consecutively in city directories, with no overlap. City directories list the Alaskan Liquor Company from 1912 to 1915; the store likely closed with Washington State's liquor prohibition in 1916.
The original art glass mural from the Alaskan Cafe is now in the collection of MOHAI (1972.5300).
Caption information source: "The Alaskan, Seattle's Newest Resort that Bids for Favor," Seattle Times, August 15, 1909, p. 24.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
