Princess Shipboard Exhibit Captures Century of Alaska Cruise History

During calls in Juneau, Princess Cruises ships are displaying a special exhibit of Alaska history. Developed in partnership with the Alaska State Museum, the show, Then & Now: 100 Years of Cruising Alaskas Waters, gives a glimpse of Alaska and the Inside Passage as it was a century ago, as experienced by early steamship excursionists.

Featured are 30 historical photographs and artifacts largely from the collections of the Alaska State Library and Alaska State Museum, both in Juneau.

The images, taken in the early 20th century in Vancouver, Victoria, Ketchikan, Juneau, Glacier Bay, Skagway and the Inside Passage, are paired with artifacts from the museums collection.

Most of the places in the photos are still travel destinations today, so cruisers can learn the history of places theyll visit and see how they have changed over the past century.

Alaska tourism began in the late 1870s, not long after the United States purchased Russias claim to Alaska in 1867. The steamships of the era were tiny compared to the cruise ships of today and carried cargo and passengers, visitors as well as locals, said Steve Henrikson, senior curator of collections for the Alaska State Museum.

Accommodations were cramped and travelers may have visited native villages, gone on big game hunts, waded through muddy streets and experienced frequent groundings. The early tourists encountered US Navy ships practicing gunboat diplomacy with Alaska natives, rubbed elbows with miners heading to the Klondike Gold Rush or were even swindled by criminals such as Skagways Soapy Smith.

Then & Now: 100 Years of Cruising Alaskas Waters will run through the summer season in the atrium of each of the seven Princess ships visiting Juneau.