Dolly's House

Happy we chose to walk through Dolly’s house! Might not be for everyone but definitely a staple to see I believe if you have the time and money! Very interesting and unique! Cash only!!!

Fun quick run through this house is a trip down the past. Interesting history of Dolly and her legacy in these parts

Dolly’s House in Ketchikan is such a fun and fascinating stop! It’s preserved in its original condition, giving you a glimpse into the town’s more colorful history. Walking through the house feels like stepping back in time, and the stories shared throughout make it even more interesting. It’s located right in the heart of Creek Street, so be sure to explore the nearby shops while you’re there—lots of unique finds and local charm. Definitely worth a visit if you’re cruising through Ketchikan or spending time in town!

30 minute self pace tour. The host will give you a brief history of Dolly and her clients. You are allowed to take pictures inside. It is a must see when in Ketchikan and just steps away from the salmon ladder.

The house was really kewl to see. The tour business that they also own was nice. The driver Randy was a great guy. Very informative. The only thing I would change is where they drop you off. It is quite a walk back to the ship when you have a bad knee. I understand they want you to check out the shops. I would have rather had a ride back.

Self guided tours, it's kind of scary. But it's cool. You can also rent fishing poles from here

This is a really cool museum! The history of Dolly and her life is really fun to learn about. After hearing Dolly's story from an employee, you can do a self guided tour through her house. "Only at Dolly's can you get hammered and nailed for $3."

In Ketchikan, besides excursions, one of the popular attractions to explore is Creek Street. Once a notorious red-light district, it has transformed into a hub of small, locally-owned shops, museums. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Creek Street boardwalk area and especially Dolly's House museum. The small house is packed with intriguing history detailing the red-light district, prohibition era, and an impressive collection of antiques and vintage items. The host was incredibly knowledgeable and animated, which greatly enhanced our experience, making it one of the highlights of our time in Ketchikan!

Dolly's house is historic in this town. Im sure if you were a fisherman back in the day you for sure came to visit. The tour is $10 and it's pretty interesting. Something quick and fun to do if your cruise happens to stop here. Wouldn't go out of my way to come here and $10 is a little high but if you have the extra money why not check it out.

Awesome spot! Great place to appreciate the colorful history of this town. Dolly was quite a character! Creek Street is very picturesque.

Interesting, self-guided tour of a historic bordello. The owner, Dolly Arthur turned out to be quite the philanthropist and took care of "her" little town. While you're here, make sure to meander the entire length of Creek St. Lots of sights (wildlife, including eagles), shops and food outlets.

My favorite place to visit on Creek Street! A must to see!! Karen's an awesome narrator even dressing for the era! Antiques from the time and stories to unfold about the brothels on Creek street. Interesting, factual and humorous tales of the amazing lady who introduced and ran the Creek Street brothels, Dolly. Original furnishings and photos to see. Well worth the small entrance fee. And Karen is there to enlighten your tour with stories and info from behind the scenes.

This is a really cool museum! The history of Dolly and her life is really fun to learn about. After hearing Dolly's story from an employee, you can do a self guided tour through her house. "Only at Dolly's can you get hammered and nailed for $3."

I would say this is an interesting part of the island's history. I wouldn't pay to see it again. If you really want to have a good time without visiting someone like Dale, visit the creek area and July through the end of spawning season and watch the bald eagles! One of my photos attached to the preview has seven bald eagles in the trees or in the air around this house see if you can find them all I enjoyed it very very much.

Super short, mostly unguided tour of Dolly's house. Dolly was a prostitute but there is nothing gratuitous in the house. I'm glad my kids didn't have many questions about Dolly--not sure a 9 year old is ready to learn about that specific profession. Overall I'm glad we didn't pay for the tour since it was included with another one. If I had to pay the $20/person the rating would be lower. When we ended up outside another visitor turned to me and asked "is that it?". He had paid the admission fee.

Alright I was super excited to check this place out. Located in the beautiful, quaint Creek Street boardwalk of Ketchikan we were excited to conclude our trip down the town and end up at Dolly's for a "grand finale". $10 tour (unless included in your tour, thankfully ours was!) and you get a weird little explanation of things and the home's history as you walk into the house, plus a cheap push into giving the lady a tip because she is "only a volunteer and that's how she makes her money" (seriously?? If you VOLUNTEER then you don't make money, that's why it is called volunteering). She was nice enough, but very odd and almost forced to act happy and excited to greet us. She was the least favorite part of the tour, but did give us some interesting stories and told us things to be sure and take note of as we passed through the museum. Moving on though.... the house is dank and dusty but there are loads of original items all throughout the 2 story home. It feels as though it's about to fall apart, I felt that was part of the charm though. Dolly was a famous madam in Creek Street's red light district. You can learn a bit from the "volunteer" before you start your self-guided tour. Along the way, you hear video and pictures telling stories of the gold rush era and the red light district. Poor quality but you may be able to pick up on some tidbits here and there. The men's restroom was my favorite part, pretty funny. Looks like an old hot water heater cut out into a urinal. There are hidden doors to reveal a secret bar and liquor storage, prohibition was in full swing during Dolly's times in the house. I'm sure you'll be told to look in the glass display case in Dolly's bedroom... where you'll find a plug-in lady pleasure tool (wink wink), also the curtain around the tub is decorated with interesting "flowers" made of condoms. Definitely interesting to grab a look, always cool to visit old "forbidden" places.

An old restored house along the creek which has been turned into a museum celebrating Dolly's life as a madame and owner of this bordello in early 20th century Ketchikan. It was very interesting as a stop after our wildlife tour dropped us off in town. We are in town as our ship has docked for the day on our cruise. The house is as it was years ago with many of the original furnishings, kept going by the quarter million dollars she allegedly made while conducting her business. When she died she willed the money to a trust to keep up the place. Took about 20 minutes to hear the short presentation and move through the two bedroom house. A good history, (her-story), lesson of old time Ketchikan. $10 donation. Worth a look if you have time when in Ketchikan. Mark & Nancy.

We think this quick little tour is a must-do when you visit Ketchikan. It's interesting history and we thought, rather inexpensive tour. Keep in mind it's a small home that's gets it's revenue from the short time that cruise ship tourists are in time annually.

I just love history, and anytime there is a historical home, even if I know nothing about it or why it's important, I want a tour. Entering Creek Street, I immediately saw the sign for Dolly's House and a lady at the door enticing people to come in. For $10 and a good story - well worth it! The house itself is pretty rundown, but I think it adds to the charm and authenticity. The owner of the house was a Madame from the early to mid-1900s, and this tour pays tribute to Ketchikan's history, Creek Street's and it's former Red Light District.

Very cool museum- they have a great package deal where you get to tour the ...uh...bordello and get a nice city tour to boot. We saw a couple of bears and salmon swimming up stream with the help of the "ladder" The very pretty Sonja conducted the tour for us and she was great! Highly recommended

It was one of those things you just have to visit. The story is interesting. It's $10 p.p. for a self guided quick tour a little steep but when in town you just have to do it.

Our tour included this as a last stop. I saw this on tripadvisor and I wanted to come here. Because of this, I was super excited that our tour included this. It's situated in a cute touristy area. I was happy to see that much of the house was in tact. However, once I stepped in, I started sneezing like crazy where I had a runny nose. Mind you, I took my allergy medicine just an hour before. The house is super dusty. If you have allergies, this place is horrible. I walked in and saw some tissues and got some. The lady up in front literally stared me down as if I had done something improper or wrong. She just stared me down. It was awkward. My husband even noticed. It seemed like she want to yell at me for taking two tissues. How weird and absurd. I think because I made a comment about my allergies, she just continued to stare at me for 15 seconds without saying anything. It was as if she was in a shocked daze. Seriously, she needed to take a chill pill and get over the fact that I had taken two small sheets of tissues. The funny thing was that after she gave our group the twenty second synopsis of the history, she asked for us to tip her. Lol. After her rude behavior, I was definitely not going to tip her. The house is preserved nicely except I think they did such a good job that the dust was preserved as well from the early twentieth century. I don't know if it was the way dolly left it but it was really disorganized. You walk around the small house (about four main rooms and two small bathrooms) reading the information yourself on the walls. I suffered having a runny nose for the next hour so it was not with it for me. Enter at your own risk.

Where else do you get to visit the home of the most famous prostitute in the city? I never thought this would be part of my adventure in Ketchikan. Fish hatchery, check! Downtown shopping, check! Creek street, check! Dolly's house?? What the??? This place is really quite inviting to any man walking by, with a lady standing by the door trying to get visitors to come in with her terrible jokes. Sadly, we fell for it and decided to go in and see what all the fuss was about. You're given a small introduction at the start, and then you're free to tour the house yourself. The girl who gave the introduction was quite rude in my opinion, or maybe just plain stupid. She assumed that since there were a couple of things my dad didn't understand, we didn't know English at all. I just let it go. The house itself is quite elegant and something I've never really seen before. You get to see the room where Dolly made all of her bank, along with the other parts of the house. There's secret contraptions set everywhere, which makes it quite a fun self tour. The shower curtains made out of condoms were also pretty interesting to see. A must visit for anyone coming to Ketchikan!

$10 for the worst tour ever. (Looks like they upped the price from the other reviews). Save your $ and just look through the pics I posted. This was horrible. Basically one old woman was dressed up and talked for about a minute and then asked for tips. After that, it was poorly recorded videos about "Dolly" all throughout the house. It was a musty and dusty self guided tour...that I wish I wouldnt have went on.

In a town without much to do this makes an entertaining and cheapish stop off. Be forewarned though it is a very short detour. I like learning about the history of this area and this is definitely an interesting piece of it. I've been here twice, both on cruise vacations. One time I walked up on my own, a 2nd time I got a free ticket with my tour package. Once I brought my 90 year old grandma, while she had problems with the stairs she was not offended by the content. I do think the price may have risen significantly over the years and this does let you out in a shopping area. If it is included free in your tour package definitely check it out, not entirely sure I would pay the current 10$ price. I do enjoy the spawning fish in the river out front. There are also some fun photo ops.

$5 for a tour that will take you about 10-15 minutes. When you are tired of shopping and looking at totems and wandering down Creek Street it's probably worth the 5 bucks to check out this little bit of history. As mentioned you enter the front after likely passing a couple ladies dressed in period dress. Pay your money and you get a short intro and are pointed into the first room. The rooms have a television playing a video to give you insight into that area. I think the additions to the house to overcome prohibition rules were probably my favorite things that I didn't expect. Otherwise what more do you expect from a prostitutes house????

Small and quick, but fun tour. Could be a little grittier, but I guess they have to keep it family friendly.

We were here last trip to Alaska and a fun experience. It's go-hum but hey - it's historical and funny now , perhaps a necessity then. ???? Don't try to explain this to kids and visit when they are not there - or just enjoy the sign as you pass by the place. Look over the railing to see dead salmon - last time we say live ones running up the river - the Go-Fishing guy said he just caught a king salmon. ??? Perhaps a sales pitch???

Happy to pay the $10 fee to tour. It's nice to learn a bit about the history. (Keep your eye out for the sex toy in the case upstairs.) The ladies were pleasant and fun. Even paid a couple bucks to have my husband pose with one of them. She threw herself into it and lifted her leg up over him. (AMAZING!) can't wait for this page of our scrapbook

I was prepared to go all history-geek on you, by telling you that the house is a fine example of late 19th century folk Victorian cottage architecture, and that it was owned by the same woman (Dolly, duh) until her death in the 70's, so it was better preserved than most. And I swear, these things excited me. But, you know, that's not totally why it's fun. Dolly's house is fun because it's a House of Negotiable Affection, if you know what I mean. In the old days, Creek Street was a red light district. Albeit a nice one, since most of the ladies had their own houses, or shared with only one other, unlike up in Juneau where they did it bunk-style. Dolly was a colorful broad, of the hardy wild west variety, and it's fun to study her for a few minutes. Even if Creek Street is reeeeally touristy and it does cost $5 to get in. Minus one star for that. But I guess the admission fee probably would have been much higher in Dolly's day.

Best five bucks I spent in Ketchikan! If you've got some spare time before the boat leaves, duck in and you won't be disappointed. Dolly's house has been well-preserved and you get the feeling that she could be somewhere inside, counting the days take. The hosts are very genuine and friendly and you get a really nice snapshot of good ol' fashioned turn-of-the-century Alaskan harlotry. PS- The antique urinal for the Johns still reeks of olde-time historic piss. That's a full-on sensory experience you won't get on the cruise ship...unless of course it's Carnival.

This place is amazing. It truly gives an inside look on prostitution as it was in the 30's-50's. Of course, times were easier then and people didn't have to worry as much about STDS, especially in Ketchikan, AK, so Dolly didn't have a whore, uh I mean, horror story in regards to her choice of business. And to the person who said she lived the lifestyle she lived at a high price, the only high price was the amount of money she charged for people to visit her. She had a very happy life and there is nothing wrong with a woman choosing what to do with her body, NO MATTER what.

Thankfully the admission price was included with our tour because this was really short and sweet. Kind of cool to imagine how this place must have played out in the past. Fun little quick tour along with some old movies playing. I wouldn't make this a must see on your trip but if it's included, stop by.

Our tour included tickets to this museum so why not? Very quaint and unique, lots of history for the city of Ketchikan. The house contains many old artifacts and design from years ago. The ladies take dress up in old fashioned garb as well. Would I have spent extra money to visit this museum? For $5, yes but anything more than that I would say no. Interesting place to visit, but more of a side show in Ketchikan.

I wish I could give this ZERO stars. We went with a group of seven people and while we were trying to pay the lady was SO RUDE AND HATEFUL we ended up leaving. We were there on vacation for a week and this was on the top of our list to do. It's such a shame that this one lady ruined the tour!

Our trip to Dolly's House on Creek Street was okay. A tour of Ketchikan that we had booked included admission to Dolly's House. Otherwise, I don't know if the $10 price to the house would have been worth it. The house itself is quite small and you go through the whole thing in less than half an hour. You start off in a living room area where there is an employee who gives you a quick introduction to Dolly. This lady was in character and did a great job. Otherwise, you walk through the rooms at your own pace but in each room there is a short video about the room. I recommend watching all the videos because they are interesting and informative. So the stop at Dolly's House was okay. While interesting enough, I guess I couldn't justify potentially spending the full $10 admission.

Just got back from a vacation in Alaska, and Ketchikan was on the list of places I visited. Ketchikan itself is such a cool city, but Creek Street has some of the most interesting history in the area. Dolly's House is a clapboard sided house set right on the edge of Creek Street and at one time was the best cat-house in Ketchikan I admit, at first I thought the tour was going to be one of those run of the mill "take you through real quick and on be on your way"...like how most of the Cruise Ship related tours operate. But this tour was nothing like that. Secret doorways and cupboards for the bootlegged whiskey, original furniture and photographs, and even some of Dolly's personal belongings when she was running the entire house by herself. If you're a history buff like myself, it was WELL worth the five bucks. Plus, all funds go towards restoration and maintenance of the house so it goes towards a good cause. Not to mention the tour guides wear period style costumes to add to the ambiance. Just plain awesome!!!

Best tour in Ketchikan. Well worth the $5!! What a life this woman has lived.

So the awesome sign on the building reads "Dolly's House / Historic Red Light Town / Where both men and salmon came upstream to spawn" It's hilarious! Just the sign alone is enough to pique my curiosity to stop in for a visit!!

Worth the five dollars to see insight into the history of an interesting woman, a different lifestyle and some unique history. There is a certain mystique of humor, tragedy, universal connection, innovation and everyday life that makes you really ponder what life in this little town used to be like.

This tour is worth the admission! Dolly's House is a "must see", whether you are a local or a visitor to the first city in Alaska. My sister and I are both locals and grew up hearing stories about Dolly and the other sporting ladies on the creek. We enjoyed this very much!

Dolly's House is a must see! We just returned from an Alaskan cruise. Ketchikan was miserable with driving wind and rain but Dolly's house was a bright spot in our day. The staff was very welcoming and informable. $5 entrance fee was reasonable for a privately owned museum. The original condition and furnishings of the house are amazing considering the amount of traffic I expect those floors have seen. The bootlegging hideouts were entertaining and imaginative. And the "Married Men's Trail" so common with the era's repressive attitudes. A woman alone without family support had few lucrative choices in those days. Dolly was smart enough to choose the right men to entertain and spend her profits investing in her place of business. The provocative photo of Dolly in her 50's and the posted newspaper adds are a case in point to her marketing skills. Dolly's story has peaked my interest in the stories of women like her no one speaks about in history class.

I LOVE this town and Dolly's House!!! Worth the $5!!!! I am a Pure Romance Sr. Director and this was so entertaining!!!! Her story is so interesting!!!! Funny how times have changed!!!! I totally recommend this tour!!!!

I believe she told me her name was INFINITY. But she is the girl that greets you at the door of Dolly's house! She does a fantastic job-has the right accent and just makes you want to come in and check out the place! Steve you should give her a raise! I love listening to her "come on"!

Dolly's house was one of the most popular attractions in Ketchikan located on Creek street, in the old part of town. Dolly "worked" her house alone and invested in a humane pet shelter, and other real estate. When I was there two sisters gave tours and they were into comedy,cracking jokes, flirting with customers and very comical.The house contains several eras of vintage artifacts and features several trap doors as Dolly got raided several times for serving bootleg whiskey during a prohibition. Raided but seldom caught! If you think you can "feel" her lingering there, you can as she loved the house and wanted it preserved! The colorful carrying ons of the "girls" even by today's standards was wild! They loved to "under the pretext" of laundry, hang thier undies out to dry along the board walk, not very subtly advertising! As men outnumbered women about ten to one in Alaska, it was a profitible business for some! Like many women in the "biz",she had been abused by her family at a young age and ran away. It was almost impossible for a young girl to survive without getting drawn into the business. For those who want a more seriouse look at the subject, the book callled "Soiled Doves" details the Night Life in Alaska. A lighthearted look at the past.cute However, narrow passages and steep stairs inside.