Happenings at the KHM

In May 2024, the Kodiak History Museum and KMXT partnered for a special three-part series on Kodiak’s historic bars. This series accompanied our temporary exhibit, Kodiak’s Historic Bars. The exhibit was co-curated with Douglas Vandegraft, Toby Sullivan, and Jim Ramaglia, and explores how bars have been part of Kodiak’s social glue for over 100 years. This project is supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Alaska State Museum.

Episode 1: Overview

We discuss how this exhibit breaks down the history of Kodiak’s bars.

Episode 2: The People

For this show, we focus on the people who were instrumental in the bars or have their own history tied to a specific establishment.

Episode 3: Major Historic Events & The Decline of Bars

For the final episode, we talk about three major events that impacted the bars in Kodiak and the decline of bars in the 1980s and 1990s.

To access the recordings on KMXT’s website, visit www.kmxt.org/podcast/kodiaks-historic-bars.

KHM recently hosted a virtual lecture on May 31st, titled “Kodiak’s Historic Bars”. In the lecture, Douglas Vandegraft, author of A Guide to the Notorious Bars of Alaska, presented his research into the history of bars in Kodiak. This presentation is part of the Kodiak History Museum’s temporary exhibit, Kodiak’s Historic Bars – 1899 to Today – co-curated with Douglas Vandegraft, Toby Sullivan, and Jim Ramaglia – exploring how bars have been part of Kodiak’s social glue for over 100 years. Watch the recorded lecture to find out more information!

This project is supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Alaska State Museum.