Inside Fly Boys

You remember Fly Boys?

The Raven's Roost and Fly Boys is nearby where I work in the Matanuska Valley. Raven's Roost is a gift shop. Fly Boys is a coffee shop.

Here you can see the upper level of the barn behind the silo. It has been converted into a lounge. The coffee shop is downstairs. So you can get your coffee downstairs and go upstairs to the lounge.

The Raven's Roost/Fly Boys barns were refurbished from Matanuska Colony barns. The rafters and metal roof you see are original and were built in 1937.

Gary, the owner and refurbisher of these barns says that there are only 49 of the over 200 original Colony barns still standing. Many have been moved and rebuilt, as these were. Some have been connected together to make a single larger barn, or connected to other barn buildings. A few have been converted to houses. Some have been converted into commercial use, such as these.

I drove around the Valley again to find about 15 individual barn sites that make up about 20 of the Colony barns. Exciting life, huh?... a barn spotter.


Fly Boys, Matanuska Valley, Alaska (google maps)