If you’ve been to Homer, chances are you’ve thrown one back at the Salty Dawg Saloon. 

As old as Homer itself, the building housing this famous watering hole served time as just about every other town necessity you could think of, including school, family home, post office, coal mining office, railway station and the grocery store. Built in 1897, it was one of the first structures erected in the newly established Alaskan town. 

It wasn’t until 1957 that the versatile cabin became what it was destined to be—a place to warm up and throw a couple back as you take a break from the endless days of Alaskan summers and endless nights when the winter comes. Owned and operated by John Warren, the saloon is now a landmark, TV star, (Deadliest Catch) faux-lighthouse, (the lighthouse facade is a cover for a water storage tank) and much-loved staple in the architectural history of Homer. When you visit, spare a buck and add it to the thousands of dollars tacked onto the walls. The tradition was said to have started when a patron stuck a dollar to the wall for his friend to buy a drink when he arrived later in the night. The tradition has continued for years, and the walls are now covered with the unclaimed drinks of absent friends.