What Happened on Prescott's Whiskey Row?

Whiskey Row is the historic block of saloons on Montezuma Street in downtown Prescott, directly across from Courthouse Plaza. In the town's frontier days it held a full row of bars — which is how it got the name — and it is most famous for the Great Fire of July 14, 1900. As the flames spread, patrons of the Palace Saloon carried its ornately carved bar across the street to the courthouse plaza to save it, and by local legend kept right on drinking while the building burned.

The Palace opened on Whiskey Row in 1877 and drew some famous frontier names in its early years, including Wyatt Earp, his brother Virgil, and Doc Holliday. On July 14, 1900, a fire broke out and spread quickly — the town's water plant was under repair at the time — and much of the Row was lost. But the Palace's heavy Brunswick bar was hauled across Montezuma Street to the plaza and survived. The Palace was rebuilt the following year, and that same original bar is still in use in the restaurant today.

Whiskey Row is still one of the liveliest stretches of downtown Prescott — a walkable block of bars, restaurants, live music, and local shops, with the Palace still serving where it always has. It is a rare place where the history is not behind glass in a museum but something you can walk into and order lunch in. For more of the town's story, see why Prescott is called "Everybody's Hometown."

A walk down Whiskey Row tells you a lot about Prescott's character — proud of its past, still very much alive, and welcoming to newcomers. That is the town the people we work with at Home Team Prescott fall for. If you're getting to know the area, start downtown, then explore Prescott when you want to see what living here could look like.