The Yukon River and the historic White Pass rail station anchor one end of Whitehorse’s main street. The other end runs into a mini mountain with a flattened top. And in between there’s about five or six blocks for walking, browsing, lingering, buying, eating and drinking.
Long-time residents of the street like Mac’s Fireweed Books, Hougen’s and Murdoch’s, are joined by youngsters like Starbucks, Subway and Shoppers Drug Mart, and all work to make Whitehorse’s main street the prettiest in the North. Even the developers get in on the action. One of the oldest buildings on main street, overlooking the river, has been retrofitted into a sophisticated little mall with a collection of shops on the street level and offices above.
Although there’s a bit of gold rush in downtown Whitehorse, Dawson’s main street is a walk through history. On wooden sidewalks. Storefronts and store names are drawn from the gold rush… and where else would you find a main street saloon with swinging doors straight out of a wild west movie?
Yukon takes its gold rush history very seriously...and this is certainly transferred to the two largest main streets in this territory.
