"Northern Exposure" fans will recognize this mural...moose and 's are missing!!Because we are both big fans of the 1990’s TV series “Northern Exposure”, we just couldn’t pass through the Cascade Mountains of Washington without a short trip into the historic little town of Roslyn. Although best known as the setting for the TV series, Roslyn has a long and interesting history as a coal mining and logging town.
Founded as a town to house the mostly immigrant coal miners, Roslyn was established in 1886. The town rapidly grew to a population of about 4000 residents. In 1888 the wood structure commercial district was mostly destroyed by fire and much of the town rebuilt in brick and native sandstone. The oldest operating tavern in the state of Washington, The Brick, was established in 1889 and is typical of this post-fire construction.
On May 10, 1892, an explosion killed 45 miners in the #1 coal mine. This disaster still ranks as the worst coalmine disaster in the state of Washington. Another explosion occurred in the #4 mine in 1909 killing 10. A monument dedicated to the miners and testifying to the hazardous occupation is located on the main street of town, Pennsylvania Ave. The last coal mine in Roslyn shut down operations in 1963. Although closed when we were in Roslyn, there is a museum housing artifacts of historical significance.
Entering wonderful Roslyn, Washington, also known as Cicely, Alaska
The Roslyn Theater
Pennsylvania Ave, the main street of Roslyn.
Roslyn monument to coal miners.The town of Roslyn is set in a Cascade Mountain valley at an elevation of 2366 feet and currently has a population of about 1000. It is located just three miles from the town of Cle Elum, WA, which is about an hour and a half east of the Seattle area on Interstate Hwy 90. Although many years have passed since the production of “Northern Exposure” in Roslyn, fans can still recognize many of the outdoor locations such as The Brick Tavern, KBHR AM Radio (Chris in the morning), RuthAnne’s General Store (now Central Sundries), Village Pizza, the mural on the side of Roslyn Café – An Oasis (the ‘s is now missing), the old church (Cicely town meeting hall), and the Northwest Mining Co building (Dr Fleishman’s office and now Cicely’s Gifts). Even though we were visiting during a weekday, NorthX fans were still obvious shutterbugs in front of all the old establishments.
The Brick Tavern, oldest operating saloon in the state of Washington and featured in "Northern Exposure".
KBHR AM Radio station, home of "Northern Exposure's" Chris in the morning radio show.
RuthAnne's General Store, now Central Sundries.
Northwest Mining Co Bldg, Dr Joel Fleishman's office (now Cicely's Gifts).
The Roslyn Cafe-An Oasis!
Maggi's first cabin in NorthX.The most notable of the old buildings in Roslyn and an establishment used in the TV series is The Brick Tavern. Established in 1889, it is known as the oldest operating tavern in the state of Washington and is reportedly a very popular nightspot on Friday and Saturday nights. The interior still has the late 1800’s feel and the old wood bar and darkened interior brick walls are worth a walk inside. Lunches and dinners are served and we found the hamburger lunch to be much better than your average burger fare. The most interesting feature in the saloon is located at the foot of the old bar in front of the freestanding stools. The 23-foot long running water spittoon has carried off tobacco juice from many patrons since 1889!
The Brick!
Interior of the 1889 saloon The Brick.
Beautiful old wooden bar inside The Brick. Check out the 23-foot long running water spittoon at foot of the bar. Patrons need not leave their stools to spit...what a wonderful concept!!
Water enteres spittoon at left end of bar...effluent end 23 feet to the right.
Unique wood stove inside The Brick Tavern.
Gordon is very happy at The Brick after a fine hamburger.We were able to locate the only geocache in Roslyn, which provided us with much of the information concerning the history of the area. The geocache in Roslyn has several waypoints at historical locations in the town and at one of the several cemeteries nearby. One of the cache waypoints was located at a moving monument to four firefighters (two of them women) who were killed in a nearby forest fire in July of 2001.
Roslyn memorial to four firefighters killed on July 10, 2001, while fighting a nearby forest fire. Two of the firefighters were young women.
Juanita checks out the contents of the Northern Exposure geocache located in woods near Roslyn.Our too short visit to Roslyn, WA, AKA Cicely, AK, behind us, we moved east to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for two nights and on to Polson, Montana, for a one-month stay. More adventures to follow!
Juanita and Bodie finish up a wonderful day in Roslyn....An Oasis, INDEED!
