History

The Triangle Club is located in the oldest part of Juneau, the actual site of the club is seaward of the original shoreline and like other structures of the 1880’s is built on pilings. The building was originally home to the Winter and Pond photography studio. Winter and Pond are well-known for their pictures capturing people, places, and events from the early days of Juneau. The earliest city records show the studio at this location from 1898 to 1908 before they moved to Main Street. From 1908 into the ‘20’s the Alaska Oyster Chop House served guests until yielding to The Junction Store which provided hardware and general supplies for the growing numbers of miners flooding into town. The end of Prohibition brought major changes to downtown and wouldn’t you know it Burford’s Corner Bar was established at this site in 1934. Wilbur Burford brought on a partner by the name of Emmett Botelho in 1935 and together they changed the name to the Triangle Inn. Emmett was the top official of the Alaska Highway Patrol for several years and is the father of Bruce Botelho who served four terms as Juneau mayor from the late ‘80’s until 2012. In 1946 Wilbur and Emmett decided to sell their establishment to Joe Thomas Sr. Joe was part owner of The Union Club (now the Avenue Bar) in Anchorage and Baileys (later to become the Red Dog Saloon) in Juneau. He sold both of those interests to become the sole owner and changed the name to the Triangle Club. He held his grand opening on St. Patrick’s Day in 1947. Joe Thomas Jr. bought the bar from his dad in 1965 and ran the business very much in the same way his father did. Joe Jr. quickly became a well-respected businessman in Juneau and together with his wife Judy, also operated Alaska Cache Liquor. After 35 years, Joe Jr. was ready to enjoy life on the other side of the bar and sold to his daughter, Leeann Thomas in 2000.

Back in the day before the Triangle Club had an ice machine, Hank Mead would collect icebergs from the Mendenhall Glacier using a pickup truck rigged to drag small pieces into the bed. He’d store the ice at his place on Trapper’s Lane and sell to some of the local establishments. Leeann’s grandpa Joe liked this unique way to keep his customers happy and would buy from him. Hank and Joe Sr. kept this routine up until the early ‘60’s. The block of dense ice would last a few days and employees used ice picks to chip off the perfect piece for each drink.