By Bradley G. Courtney
Prescott’s Palace Restaurant and Saloon is an iconic piece of Old and Wild West history. As time goes on and more of its history is revealed, its importance grows. Hence, it’s essential that its origin story is correctly told.
In a Days Past column on September 12, 1999, it was stated that, “The exact age of the Palace Saloon is somewhat of a puzzle.” The historical plaque fastened in front of the Palace today uses these exact words. Happily, they’re no longer true. After a chronological study of every Prescott newspaper from the first one in 1864 through the rebuild that followed Prescott’s Great Fire of 1900, coupled with examining related documents and records along the way, the puzzle pieces have fallen into place. The Palace’s roots reach back to 1874.
It’s important to remember that there were three pre-Great Fire Palaces, but only one was related to today’s Palace. The aforementioned 1999 “Days Past” and the Palace’s historical plaque both cite the following from the September 21, 1877, Arizona Weekly-Miner as reason to date the saloon’s origin year as 1877: “Messrs Shaw & Standefer have fitted up the Palace Saloon in the most superb style, and fitted it with choice liquors of every conceivable kind.” Indeed, this was the first mention of a business named the Palace in a Prescott newspaper. However, it is a Palace, but not the Palace related to today’s award-winning establishment on Montezuma Street. The August 10, 1877, edition of the Arizona Weekly-Miner, disclosed the rest of the story: “Messrs Shaw & Standefer are fixing up the old Antelope Restaurant building for a first-class saloon.” The Antelope Restaurant was on 112 Gurley Street. The 1877 Palace closed in about a year’s time. During the years 1879-1881, there was no saloon in Prescott named the Palace.
Another Palace Saloon opened on Montezuma Street in 1882, several doors down from where today’s Palace is located. It was owned by perhaps Prescott’s first female saloon proprietor, known simply as Mrs. McManus. It too was short-lived.
Throughout the 1870s and early 80s, some key Prescottonians believed that prominent businessmen weren’t visiting Prescott because it lacked a first-class hotel. The dilemma was solved in April 1883, when Moses Hazeltine Sherman opened the Sherman House on Goodwin Street facing the south end of the plaza.
The people of Prescott immediately saw the Sherman House as something special. Nathan Ellis and Al Whitney saw an opportunity too good to pass up. They predicted the Sherman House would attract a large clientele. A saloon near it would certainly benefit. They decided to build one as part of the Sherman Block.
The public watched with interest as Prescott’s latest “resort” arose. On Saturday, June 23, 1883, Prescott’s newest saloon opened in grand fashion. With a bottle of champagne, it was christened “The Palace.” It was touted as not only the largest saloon in northern Arizona but also the most refined in the Southwest.
The Goodwin Street Palace is directly related to today’s Whiskey Row gem. So, does this make 1883 the birth year of today’s Palace? Not at all. Any study of the Palace must begin with the fact that the grand building now housing both the Palace and the Jersey Lilly Saloon is the result of merging two of the most popular pre-Great Fire Prescott watering holes: the Palace and Cabinet saloons. In fact, there was talk of naming the new enterprise the “Palace-Cabinet,” which would’ve made the efforts of historians hunting for its origins much easier. At another point, it was going to be called the National Saloon; that name was originally written on the back of the blueprints.
Next week, more about the Cabinet Saloon, and how the Palace wound up on Montezuma Street.
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1 The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.