Discovery Saloon, historic place in Alaska, United States

The Discovery Saloon is a two-story wooden commercial building in Nome, Alaska, built in 1901 and located on First Avenue West. The small structure, measuring about 18 feet by 36 feet, originally featured a false front and two distinctive rounded bay windows on the upper floor, though modern aluminum siding now covers the original wood exterior.

Built in 1901, the saloon was one of forty-four drinking establishments in Nome during the height of the gold rush, operated by Max Gordon until 1912. Around 1940, the building transitioned from a social gathering place to a private residence, marking a significant shift in how the structure served the community.

Max Gordon ran the Discovery Saloon as a high-end public establishment from 1901; it was one of forty-four drinking places in gold-rush Nome. In the 1940s the building was converted into one of Nome's finest private residences, and it is still a private home today, so its saloon days are read from the street.

The building is visible from the street along First Avenue West and can be visited on foot as part of a walk through Nome's historic district. Since it is now private property, visitors can view it from the outside to appreciate its distinctive wooden structure and remaining architectural details.

The false front that the current description credits is not documented in the sources, which describe the building as a two-story wood-frame structure with a false front but note that modern aluminum siding now covers the original wood exterior. What the sources do record is that the Discovery Saloon is the oldest commercial building in Nome and one of the few to survive from the gold rush era.