Pioneer Hotel Two
Pioneer Hotel Two
Pioneer Hotel Two
Pioneer Hotel Two
Pioneer Hotel Two
Pioneer Hotel Two
Cultural History
Cultural History
The Pioneer Hotel was originally located on the east bank of the Yukon River under the name of the Savoy Hotel. It was built and run by Edward Algernon Dixon, an ex-North West Mounted Police (NWMP) officer who had piloted boats through the Whitehorse Rapids in 1898 and 1899. In 1900, the building was moved to Front Street and renamed the Pioneer Hotel. It was possibly the first building in the new townsite of Whitehorse. Dixon sold the hotel to another ex-NWMP officer Sergeant Pringle. He ran it for six months before selling it to James Smart, who had assisted Dixon in its construction. Pringle went on to open Pringle's Stables on Main Street. The hotel had various subsequent owners under the name The Pioneer Rooms, most notably by Anna Puckett who bought and renovated the hotel c. 1930.
By the 1950's the hotel was purchased by Max Kushner, dismantled, moved to the Shipyards area, and divided into four pieces. One of the cabins was destroyed by fire and another used for firewood. The rear portion of the original hotel building and the front section survived.
This building was occupied by photographer John Hatch who lived in the building for twenty years prior to his death and coincidentally, the end of the Shipyards community. Hatch was a well known local photographer and advocate for the preservation of the Shipyards neighborhood.
The Shipyards squatter area began as an area occupied by tents and small structures belonging to shipyard carpenters and employees, and newcomers to Whitehorse.
Among them were John Sewell and James Richards, better known as "Buzzsaw Jimmy", who leased a portion of this area in 1910 to operate a sawmill--a venture which lasted for five years before running into financial difficulty. First Nations people also resided in the area while employed by White Pass in the summer, or while in town to load up on supplies and visit friends. Today the former Shipyards and adjacent areas remain the last vestiges of a once large and colourful community within Whitehorse. The nature of employment with BYN Co. in the shipyards and on the boats dictated a seasonal lifestyle. Living near their sources of employment, on land they weren't required to purchase, was ideal for many shipyard residents. Many occupied the area in the summer months when work was available, and departed in the autumn to find work elsewhere. Living on BYN Co. land was tolerated because these individuals were essential to the operation and well-being of the company.
After incorporation as a city in 1950, Whitehorse administrators began to look with disfavour on the waterfront area and its over 700 residents. Whitehorse was experiencing a severe housing shortage, and the waterfront did provide some alternative to the privately-owned, and unavailable, housing in town. In 1957, the
government amended the Territorial Lands Act, thus allowing for squatter removal from all waterfront and escarpment areas. This proved a difficult and inappropriate undertaking. In the 1960s, alternative sites were offered to the squatters, along with the costs of relocating their dwellings to leased or private lots. The sites were located in Porter Creek, Crestview, Lot 19 (near the clay escarpment at the south end of town), and along the Alaska Highway. Most often, these were not viable locations for those squatters who could not afford to lease or purchase a lot. The option of Lot 19 failed to materialize when Whitehorse voters defeated its proposal in 1961/62 plebiscites. Many squatters opted for these sites, or were removed from the area. The city created a "Transient Area" in the Marwell Industrial area as a "temporary" location for squatters' buildings which were below standards for relocation in the proposed subdivisions, but many houses remained here well into the 1970s. In 1987, a squatter policy was enacted, which outlined the rights of waterfront residents to pursue ownership of the land on which their dwellings were located. Squatters were offered life-long leases, pending the settlement of land claims negotiations.
The Shipyards formally ended as a community in 2003 with the formation of Shipyards Park.
