The Heart of Prescott’s Whiskey Row
By Graham Bosch
The city of Prescott in northern Arizona was named after historian William H. Prescott in 1864. It serves as the Yavapai County seat and was the capital of the Arizona territory from 1864 to 1867, and again from 1877 to 1889. The oldest and most well-known area of Prescott is its downtown, home to the Yavapai County Courthouse and, of course, Whiskey Row. Right in the center of this row of old-timey saloons and local eateries is the oldest restaurant and bar in Arizona: Palace Restaurant and Saloon. The Palace is located directly across Montezuma Street from the courthouse, which was built in 1916.
Founded in 1877, the Palace served as not only a place to eat and drink but a cultural hub for the entire Prescott Valley area, where the economy ran on mining and cattle. People would come in to vote in elections, buy and sell mineral claims, and seek out work. In the years after the Palace first opened the restaurant saw such famous cowboys as the legendary Wyatt Earp and his brother Virgil, along with the equally prominent Doc Holliday. In fact, Virgil Earp lived in Prescott and served as town constable. According to the Palace website, Doc Holliday went on a winning streak in poker while staying in Prescott and won $10,000—an impressive windfall for the time period.
In the summer of 1900, there was a huge fire on Whiskey Row that destroyed the Palace and several other bars. Rather than give up on their businesses, Palace owner Bob Brow teamed up with the owners of Cabinet Saloon (which also burned) to rebuild the Palace. By 1901 the Palace Hotel and Bar was up and running again. For the next 115 years, the restaurant was continuously maintained and restored to keep it looking its best. Even today, the Palace remains an extremely popular destination for locals and visitors alike. It is common to see custom cars and trucks on the street during busy weekends, as well as men and women in Old West dress hanging around by the bar. Luckily, bar patrons were able to save the 1880s hand-carved Brunswick Bar during the Whiskey Row fire and carry it across the street to the courthouse plaza. It remains as one of the saloon’s most interesting features.
The Palace Restaurant and Saloon has been the site of several movies and television shows over the years. Perhaps most notable is the 1974 Steve McQueen film “Junior Bonner,” about a wild cowboy returning to Arizona to reunite with his family and compete in a rodeo championship. A large mural of the movie poster is painted on one wall of the Palace dining room.
According to the website Haunted Rooms, a ghost named Nevins resides in the Palace Saloon. Nevins was in debt during a high-stakes poker game, bet his mortuary as collateral, and ended up losing everything to the sheriff. Legend has it that whenever men play poker in the saloon, the spirit of Nevins comes back to replay the game that lost him his business. Dave Michelson, the current owner, has told stories of glasses falling off the rack and the manequin that resides at the top of the stairs falling over the railing, each without any explanation.
