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Ketchikan Alaska Vintage Retro Unisex Embroidered Cotton Polo - White Logo

Ketchikan Alaska Vintage Retro Unisex Embroidered Cotton Polo - White Logo

Regular price $48.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $48.00 USD
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The Ketchikan polo, for the town that is Alaska’s First City. Soft ring-spun cotton pique with the Ketchikan vintage retro logo embroidered on the chest in white thread: hometown pride that passes at the office.

Choose the polo when a t-shirt is too casual and a logo too loud: the embroidered crest reads as a club mark, so it works for golf, a summer dinner or a workday. It is the Ketchikan gift for fathers, grooms and anyone who already owns too many tees.

Our vintage-retro logo is embroidered on the chest of a semi-fitted pique polo in soft 100% ring-spun cotton (~5.2 oz/yd²). A classic 2-button placket with dyed-to-match buttons and side-seamed construction keep the look sharp for work, golf, or weekends, and the breathable, lightweight fabric stays comfortable in warm weather. Advanced fabric certification adds peace of mind. Care: machine wash cold (gentle), tumble dry low, no bleach, do not iron decoration, no dry clean. Embroidery uses thread rather than ink, so slight differences from the digital product image are normal; full details are in our Embroidery footer.

Mike Martin built the first salmon cannery on Ketchikan Creek in 1885, and on August 25, 1900, Ketchikan became the earliest incorporated city still standing in Alaska. By the early 1930s thirteen canneries packed a million and a half cases a year and the town called itself the Salmon Capital of the World.

Creek Street’s boardwalk still stands on pilings over the salmon stream, the downtown is a National Historic Landmark District, Deer Mountain rises 3,000 feet straight behind it, and about 162 inches of rain fall every year. A 31-mile-long town never more than ten blocks wide is the mark on this piece.


QUICK FACTS — KETCHIKAN AK EMBROIDERED COTTON POLO

Town: Ketchikan, Alaska

Founded: 1885; incorporated Aug 25, 1900

Known for: Alaska’s First City; the Salmon Capital of the World; Creek Street on its pilings; the Rain Capital of Alaska

Art: Ketchikan vintage retro logo, white (embroidered)

Blank: Semi-fitted pique polo, side-seamed, 2-button placket

Fabric: 100% ring-spun cotton, ~5.2 oz/yd²

Decoration: Chest embroidery, white thread

Care: Machine wash cold (gentle), tumble dry low, no bleach, do not iron decoration

Sizes: M, L, XL

Made to order in the USA


Made to order and shipped free in the U.S. More Ketchikan pieces, and the rest of Alaska, are one button away.



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Wear Local. Feed Local. Stay Classic.

Product FAQs

How does your sizing work?

Every item is made to order, so please check the size chart on this page before you buy. Women's fitted tees run small; size up for a looser fit. Caps are one size with an adjustable strap.

How are items made and when will they arrive?

We make each item to order using premium blanks, embroidery and soft-hand prints. Production takes 2-5 business days (weekends and holidays excluded), then 4-10 days in transit via USPS, UPS or FedEx to U.S. addresses; most orders arrive within 6-15 business days. You'll get a tracking link the moment it ships. Any current shipping offer is shown in the bar at the top of every page and applies automatically at checkout, no code needed.

How do I send a gift?

Enter the recipient's address as the shipping address and your own as the billing address at checkout. Nothing ships with a price; the package includes a plain packing slip. Tracking goes to your email, not theirs. For birthdays and holidays, order two weeks ahead to be safe.

What's the return policy?

Made-to-order items can't be returned or exchanged for size or color, so please use the size chart and photos before ordering. If anything arrives defective, misprinted or damaged, send a photo and your order number within 30 days and we'll replace it or refund you.

How do I care for my item?

Apparel: wash cold, inside out, with like colors; no bleach; tumble dry low or hang dry. Embroidered pieces: iron inside out to protect the stitching. Caps: spot clean. Printed glasses and water bottles: hand wash only, no dishwasher, so the artwork lasts. Mugs and engraved glasses are dishwasher safe. Any item-specific care notes are in the description above.

Who makes this?

Merlin Classics is a small Connecticut brand making original retro designs for the towns people love. Every piece is printed, embroidered or engraved to order in the USA, and the business supports hunger relief in the communities our collections celebrate.

Timber built the second economy. Sitka spruce from the surrounding Tongass — the largest national forest in the country, its regional headquarters right in town — fed sawmills and, in 1954, the big pulp mill at Ward Cove that anchored the town for four decades until its 1997 closing. Logging's showman legacy survives downtown, where the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show still runs axe throws and log-rolls for the summer crowds.

The creek had a wilder era, too. From 1903 to 1954, Creek Street — the boardwalk on pilings over the water — was the town's red-light district, home to as many as thirty establishments; sportsmen joked it was the only place where both the fish and the fishermen went upstream to spawn. Dolly Arthur, its most famous madam, worked the green house at Number 24 from 1919 on, and her home survives as Dolly's House Museum. The discreet back path over the hill earned its own enduring name: Married Man's Trail.

Why People Visit Ketchikan Alaska

  • Creek Street — the boardwalk on pilings, Dolly's House Museum, the salmon ladder, and Married Man's Trail over the hill.
  • The totem circuit — Saxman Totem Park, Totem Bight State Park, Potlatch Totem Park, and the Totem Heritage Center's unrestored 19th-century poles.
  • Misty Fjords National Monument — granite fjords, waterfalls, and New Eddystone Rock by floatplane or boat up Behm Canal.
  • The Tongass — rainforest trails from Rainbird to the Deer Mountain climb; bears at Herring Cove in late summer; eagles everywhere.
  • Town life — the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, waterfront seafood, Cape Fox Lodge above downtown, and the summer salmon derby.

Ketchikan Alaska retro logo with distressed bear and Est. 1959, Merlin Classics