THE BUILDINGS OF PIONEER AVENUE
1. Pratt House – 304 W Pioneer Ave
The Pratt House is an important historic building in Homer. The building was built in 1939, and the original owners, Sam and Vega Pratt, played significant roles in the community. The first meetings of Homer Electric Association and the Homer Society of Natural History took place in the Pratt House. The Pratts donated the land where the Pratt Museum stands today, and Sam Pratt was the first volunteer curator at the museum. The building features many expansions and additions from its original build. The house was later a hostile from 2002 to 2013. As of 2024, it is owned by William Schleim.
2. Zen Den Café – 280 W Pioneer Ave
Just to the east of the Pratt house lies Zen Den Café. The building was originally the home of Vega Pratt’s art studio and was built in 1947.
3. Homer Legislative Information Office – 270 W Pioneer Ave
In 1985, this building was a liquor store, as well as the home to Homer’s Jeans, which has since moved east on Pioneer. It has since housed the Homer Jobs Center, and, as of 2024, it is now a legislative information office.
4. Pioneer Inn – 244 W Pioneer Ave
This building was built in 1965 as a motel and has been used as such ever since.
5. 203 W Pioneer Ave
Originally built in 1960, another wing was added on in 2014.
6. North Wind Home Collection – 173 W Pioneer Ave
Like many buildings on Pioneer, the current business, North Wind Home Collection, is not the first business to operate in this building. The building first opened in 1954 as Uminski’s Department Store, until it was closed in about 1990, and bought by North Wind. Although much of the building is original, the front is an addition added on by North Wind.
7. Beauty Salon
To the west of Café Cups (162 W Pioneer Ave) lay a building owned by the Uminski family until it was demolished in 2003. The building started out as a beauty salon, but has also been a pawn shop and a travel center.
8. The Twisted Goat – 162 W Pioneer Ave
The Twisted Goat, located at 162 W. Pioneer Ave., is perhaps one of the most interesting buildings on Pioneer. Built in 1934 or 1939 in Old Town next to what is now AJ’s Steakhouse (2024), the building, while not have changed significantly in the physical sense, gone through many a business. Built for and by the Homer Women’s Club as a space to meet until it moved to its new location in 1983. After being moved, it was used by the Homer News. It was Clemans Jewelry until it was purchased by Mark Brinster and Sue Hoffman, who created Café Cups and had the building renovated to include a new façade with giant cups over the entrance. Café Cups changed owners twice before closing its doors in 2019.
In 2020, the building was once again renovated, removing the large cups and changing paint colors to house the Little Mermaid restaurant, which had previously been operated on the Homer Spit. Ultimately, The Little Mermaid closed in May 2022, and the building was once again repainted by the new owners who opened their restaurant, The Twisted Goat.
9. Northern Leather
East of Café Cups (162 W Pioneer Ave) was a small business, Northern Leather.
10. Chiropractic Clinic – 141 W Pioneer Ave
Built in 1979 as a new home for the Homer Public Library, this building functioned in that capacity until 2006, when a new facility was built at 500 Hazel Ave. A local chiropractor purchased the building and property in 2008 from the City of Homer and has maintained the building since then (2024).
11. Mikes Alaskan Eatery and other retail shops – 158 W Pioneer Ave
Original building (farthest East) was built in 1964 and now houses two retail locations, including a barber shop (2024). The building that houses Mike’s Alaskan Eatery (2024) was built in 1975 and an eastern portion was added on in 1990. The hexagonal building closest to Pioneer Ave was built in 1998.
12. Divinitea – 111 W Pioneer Ave
The Kranich House, now Divinitea (as of 2024), was built in 1944-1945. From 1945-1952, the north area of the house was used as the post office. Since, the building has been the Kaleidoscope music store (owned by Barr Gray), an art supplies shop, the Fairy Ring Teahouse, and Divinitea.
13. Homer Theater – 106 W Pioneer Ave
The Homer Theater, originally known as the Family Theater, was built in 1956-1957, by the Kranich family, as a successor to the Skyway Theater. Like many historic buildings on Pioneer, the front is an expansion of the original building.
14. United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment– 104 E Pioneer Ave
The Coast Guard building to the west of Nomar has a very significant history. It began as the Cash Store, owned by Lillian Walli, in 1936. The Cash Store was regarded by many as the center of Homer, and was the place where most residents got their groceries, clothes, and house supplies. In 1969, the building was converted into Proctor’s Warehouse, which was another significant store in Homer, until it went out of business due to the opening of Eagle Quality Center, which is now Safeway.
15. Duncan House Diner – 125 E Pioneer Ave
Built around 1958, this building housed a plumbing and electronic business prior to becoming a diner. Possibly Ebb Tide Diner and Millie’s Copper Kitchen prior to the Duncan House/Marge & Kathi Homestyle Cooking… taking over the building in the mid-1970’s. They owned it together until 1986, at which point Kathi and her husband Roger Duncan became the sole owners. Beryl & Howard Myhill owned it during the 1990’s and the Gamble family purchased it in 2002 and have run it since (2024).
16. Kharacters – 3851 Shelford St
The Kharacters bar was built in 1936, and was originally owned by Tom Shelford, who, like many others, had homesteaded to Alaska. As Tom Shelford was the postmaster at the time, part of the building was used as the post office. In the 1950’s, the home was sold and repurposed as the Sterling Bar and Café. The building was later renamed Kharacters, a name it has retained to this day.
17. The Mural
The mural located on the north side of West Pioneer Ave. is an attractive piece of remastered art. Originally created in 1985 by Tom Reed, the mural was updated by Reed in 2008, adding grey characters to the black. Reed updated the mural in 2024 once again. The mural features 36 characters, including significant artists, musicians, and theater stars such as Jill Berryman and Mary Epperson.
18. Kings Landing Hotel – 147 E Pioneer Ave
This hotel, with a history of modifications, was built in 1946. Its original name, Heady Hotel, comes from its original owners, Al and Esther Heady. Repurchased in 1958, the hotel’s new owners, Harris and Thelma Gordon, expanded the hotel with an addition. After the hotel was purchased again in 1973 by David and Eileen Becker, another, much larger, addition was added. In 1980, the Alaska Lodge Corporation purchased the hotel, renaming it the Homer Heritage Hotel. On December 29, 2016 the hotel was sold to life-long resident Abe Alborn and renamed King’s Landing Hotel.
19. Dilapidated Cabin – 147 E Pioneer Ave
Probably build in the 1940s
Originally Sterling Bar, which moved across the street to the “Shelford House” (which is now Kharacters Bar). Then became the Sterling Café (which moved from next door building “Alice’s” which became the Club Bar before burning down).
Other names/business’ – Easy Breezy Sterling Café, Judy’s, Bear Claw Bakery, Try My Thai, Obama Campaign Headquarters
20. Sunny’s Service – 152 E Pioneer Ave – “Sunny’s Chevron Service”
This building was opened in 1957 as a gas station and automotive shop by Sunny Shelford. In the 1970’s Jasper (Jay) Carroll and his wife, Arva, purchased the business and expanded the shop to include two additional bays. In 1984, Joel Jay (J.J.) Carroll purchased the business and building. In 2013, longtime empoloyee Robert Tarnowske purchased the business, and in 2017, J.J. passed away.
(Witing, Christina. For the Homer News. Published April 27,2023. Homer, Alaska.)
21. Girasol Art Studio – 178 E Pioneer Ave
The Jones House, built before 1940, originally stood in Halibut Cove, before it was moved by barge to Homer, and carried by wagon across the spit to Pioneer. It was occupied by the Jones family from 1944-1951. From 1944-1945 the main floor was a restaurant owned by Freda Coles, a relative of the Jones. As of 2024, the building is the Girasol Art Studio.
22. Alice’s Champagne Palace – 195 E Pioneer Ave
One of the more famous historic buildings of Homer, Alice’s Champagne Palace has a wild history. The business first opened as a café in 1946, operated by Freda Coles, as well as Ken and Hazel Heath. In 1955, the building was sold and converted into a bar known as the Club Bar. The original building burned down in September 1976, but was rebuilt soon after and reopened on New Years Eve 1976. It was renamed Alice’s Champagne Palace in 1980 in honor of Alice Cochrane, who had owned the building for multiple noncontiguous time periods.
23. Cyclelogical – 302 E Pioneer Ave
In 1985, this building was Sherlet & Danielle’s Boutique. As of 2024, it houses Cyclelogical, a bike shop.
24. AC/DC Electrical Supply – 528 E Pioneer Ave
Built by Hazel and Ken Heath in 1946 to house Alaska Wildberry Products. In the 1960s, Harry and Betty Brundage purchased the business and by 1975 it was sold again, this time to Peter Eden. Eden grew the business from its single site in Homer to additional sites in Anchorage and Wasilla. Alaska Wildberry Products closed permanently in Homer in 2012. The building was later extended to house dance studios and currently houses AC/DC Electrical Supply store (2024).
To learn more, join us for a guided Historic Walking Tour of Pioneer Avenue.
This page is a work in progress. If you have any information or any photographs that could be useful, please contact us at communications@prattmuseum.org.