Spenard, Anchorage True Crime Walking Food Tour
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During the late 1960s and early 1970s, our city was wild and dangerous — dive into Anchorage’s criminal history with a half-day food and drink tour like no other!
Alaska was flush with oil money from the pipeline being built, leading Anchorage to double in size in a short space of time. Working men poured into the city from all over the country.
Where people live in the fast lane with big paychecks, there are mobsters, prostitutes, bikers, and con artists looking to take their money. Lives suddenly seemed cheap, and blood was in the streets thanks to violent crime and serial killings. Honest men and women were rare, partying was a way of life — all normal for a boomtown in America.
Brothels, bars, various clubs, and gambling joints popped up overnight. Alcohol and drugs rained from the sky, fueling an already-raging fire. All this debauchery set the scene for some fascinating stories, and you can hear the dirty details on this half-day tour in Anchorage. This excursion explores the city’s seedy underbelly in the 1960s and early 1970s, with most attention focused on the notorious Spenard neighborhood — the epicenter of it all.
This Spenard True Crime Tour covers some of the history and people mentioned in Johnny’s Girl, the nationally acclaimed memoir by Kim M. Rich. This fascinating book tells the tale of an ordinary girl living an extraordinary childhood in Anchorage, AK, during this time period.
Kim’s father, John F. “Johnny” Rich, was a major player in the underworld of Anchorage, Alaska, in the 1960s. Her mother was Frances “Ginger” Rich, an exotic dancer and B-girl who suffered from mental illness. Kim’s father was brutally murdered when she was 15, a consequence of his lifestyle. This true story is the perfect companion piece for this Alaska food tour.
On this Anchorage half-day tour, we spend 3 hours walking this infamous neighborhood eating good food, having strong drinks, and learning the true crime history of the city’s underground. We then end our night with drinks at one of the most famous bars in Alaskan history.
This 21 and older Anchorage food tour is not for the faint of heart, children, or the pious. While we do talk about factual, true crime events, which were terrible, our guides do not go into graphic detail. Our goal is to maintain an accurate retelling of historical events tastefully and intriguingly.