Alaska Cruise - Skagway, Colorful Houses

One commonality about the Alaska towns that we visited was the colorful houses and buildings.  Makes me wonder if there are municipal codes for the benefit of the tourist trade, or does this come about naturally to add life to an otherwise long, bleak and wet winter season?

At first glance the pavement that you see in the foreground looks like a road or highway, but is in fact a runway for the local airport.  Overall view below, captured in a 3-shot panorama: