Entry No. 44 — the Anchorage file — filed under: arcade-play
Chilkoot Charlie's (Koot's)
This sprawling 1970-vintage bar complex packs eight wildly different rooms under one roof, including the Kootskade arcade with classic cabinets like Galaga, Space Invaders and Ms. Pac-Man alongside a rotating lineup of pinball machines such as The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Elvira's House of Horrors and John Wick. The original South Long Bar still has sawdust floors and 20 yards of bar top, and there's an Ice Bar built from 25 feet of solid ice plus a Czarist-themed Russian room with the largest collection of imperialist memorabilia in Alaska. It is gloriously sensory-overloaded bar-hopping without ever stepping outside.
The story
When radio salesman Mike Gordon bought The Alibi Club in Spenard on New Year’s Day in 1970, he struck a handwritten deal with Alaskan radio poet Ruben Gaines to name the joint after Gaines’ fictional sourdough rascal, Chilkoot Charlie. Gordon famously painted the motto 'We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you' over the door. As the 1970s Trans-Alaska Pipeline oil boom hit Anchorage, a modest neighborhood piano bar mutated into a sprawling, labyrinthine drinking complex.
Step inside today and you'll find eight wildly different rooms operating under a single roof, allowing you to bar-hop across entire subcultures without stepping outside into the cold. You can start on the original sawdust floors of the South Long Bar at its 20-yard wooden counter, drift into a Czarist Russian room packed with the largest collection of imperialist memorabilia in Alaska, order a drink off a bar top made from 25 feet of solid ice, or duck into the Kootskade arcade to drop quarters into classic cabinets like Galaga, Space Invaders, and Ms. Pac-Man alongside pinball machines like The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Elvira's House of Horrors, and John Wick.
It is pure sensory overload. You didn't hear it from us, but half the trick of surviving Koot's is accepting that you will lose your friends, wander through hallways flanked by erratic decor, and emerge hours later with sawdust on your shoes and no clear memory of how you navigated from room three to room six.
What it's like
Arriving at Koot's feels less like entering a bar and more like walking into an overgrown indoor compound. The hallways are dimly lit and disorienting, with sound bleeding between rooms as clinking pinball flippers in the Kootskade give way to bass-heavy beats near the Ice Bar. Locals view the place as an Anchorage rite of passage, but the consensus on local forums is simple: go on a weeknight if you want to actually play the pinball machines or admire the Russian relics without fighting crowds, and leave well before closing time if you want to avoid the exit-door logjam.
The move: Bar-hop the eight themed rooms, then duel on the pinball machines and vintage cabinets in the Kootskade arcade.
- 📍 Spenard, Anchorage
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Big night
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 2435 Spenard Rd, Anchorage, AK 99503
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Bear Tooth Theatrepub — Catch a movie with fresh pizza and craft beer at Spenard's staple theaterpub before walking two blocks into Koot's late-night maze.
- "Spen" — the Spam Can & Raven Sculpture — Check out Spenard's giant bronze Spam can sculpture down the street before diving into Koot's multi-room dive bar complex.
- Dos Manos Gallery — Browse eclectic work from over 100 Alaskan artists at Dos Manos before trading art landings for Koot's sawdust floors and arcade cabinets.
- Penny Royalty — Shop vintage clothes and local art across from Bear Tooth before heading over to Koot's for an evening of indoor bar-hopping.
Good to know
What arcade and pinball games are in the Kootskade?
The arcade features classic video cabinets including Galaga, Space Invaders, and Ms. Pac-Man, alongside pinball machines such as The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Elvira's House of Horrors, and John Wick.
Is the Ice Bar made of real ice?
Yes, the bar top in the Ice Bar is built from 25 feet of solid ice illuminated from underneath.
What is the original room inside the complex?
The South Long Bar is the original 1970 space, preserved with sawdust on the floors and a 20-yard-long bar top.
Is there an age requirement to get in?
Yes, Chilkoot Charlie's is strictly a 21-and-older venue, so bring valid government-issued photo identification.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · pinballmap.com · Yelp · alaska.org · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-23