An historic brothel museum in Skagway, Alaska, which once offered 19th-century miners a slate of prostitutes on demand, is now under fire from angry LGBTQ activists for declining to fly LGBTQAI+ flags during June.
While the Red Onion Saloon has long catered to those who claim to have alternative sexual identities, including regular drag performances and gay dance nights, once-supportive activists have turned on the establishment.
Tracy LaBarge, who purchased the business in 2024 from long-time owner Jan Wrentmore, defended her decision to decline Pride flag displays, saying the goal is to provide an accurate historical portrayal of the one-time brothel that now serves as a popular museum and saloon.
“Our commitment to creating a safe and welcoming environment for all employees, guests, and members of our community has never changed,” LaBarge noted in a June 17 Facebook post. “While there may be differing opinions regarding displays, decorations, and how a historical property is presented, those decisions should never be mistaken for a lack of support, compassion, or respect for any individual or group.”
Despite the fact that the Red Onion is hosting a “Pride Dance Night” on June 26, the irate LGBTQ activists are insisting on a more overt show of allegiance.
“The Red Onion’s legacy is bigger than any single symbol,” LaBarge added. “My focus, and the focus of our team, will continue to preserve the history of this remarkable building, supporting our community, and providing exceptional hospitality to every person who walks through our doors.”
LaBarge’s rationale is unacceptable to an organized coalition of activists who have launched an online campaign aimed at pressuring the Red Onion to capitulate to its demands.
A Change.org petition is calling for “accountability, transparency, and a renewed commitment to the values of inclusion and safety that the Red Onion Saloon has historically represented.”
Those spearheading the petition allege that failure to fly Pride flags amounts to silencing and marginalizing the LGBTQ community. They further suggest that employees and others who are demanding Pride flag displays are being “harassed through vague threats and aggressive language.”
“[T]his silence can no longer be mistaken for neutrality,” the petition states. “Instead, it is increasingly being recognized as negligence and a failure of public accountability. Public symbols of inclusion matter. They communicate who is welcome, who is valued, and who is safe.”
In order to placate the LGBTQ activist, they say LaBarge must issue “a public apology, a clear public affirmation of support for the LGBTQ+ community…
Despite the fact that the Red Onion is hosting a “Pride Dance Night” on June 26, the LGBTQ activists are insisting on a more overt compliance with their demands.
“We denounce support of the Red Onion Saloon, as well as its Friday, June 26, 2026 “Pride Dance Night,” until responsible action has been taken to address these concerns,” the group stated, claiming that the Red Onion’s brothel museum is “inherently tied to political and social issues.”
In order to placate the LGBTQ activist, they sat LaBarge must issue “a public apology, a clear public affirmation of support for the LGBTQ+ community, and permission for Pride flags to once again be displayed within the establishment … Together, our voices can ensure that inclusion is not merely implied, but demonstrated.”
The Red Onion first opened in 1897, with the brothel launching one year later during the peak of the Klondike Gold Rush. That was 81 years before Gilbert Baker crafted the original eight-color Pride flag in 1978 for San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade. Since then, the flag has been regularly updated with new symbols representing people of color and those who claim to be transgender or intersex.
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Since 1980, the current version of the Red Onion has served as a museum with antiques from the gold rush days and other items from the original brothel. Dramatic tours catering to cruise ship visitors include women dressed as historic prostitutes while sharing humorous stories about the original “cribs” where women once plied their trade to Klondike miners.
Before opening as a restored museum and saloon 46 years ago, the Red Onion operated as an army barracks, bakery, laundry shop, union hall, gift shop and a television station.
The current demand that the saloon overtly serve as a visible affirmation of the LGBTQ agenda comes at a time when many businesses and corporations around the nation are declining to use their brands and services to promote what has increasingly become a divisive and demanding ideology pushed by the hard left.
Those who fail to toe the line, however, are at risk of being denounced as insufficiently aligned with the wider aims of the sexual identity movement. At times, even historic allies are placed in the crosshairs for failure to conform.
