Memorabilia from the Palace Bar Prescott AZ

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LandCruiserPhil

Peter Pan Syndrome
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Graham County, Arizona
It will soon be 30 years I received this token one evening at the Palace Bar. I have never seen another and never meet anyone that could tell me anything about it. Anyone with any info?
Palace1.webp
Palace2.webp
 
IIRC it can only be redeemed to the original girls, may want to rethink that, they are probably almost as old as you!:eek::flipoff2:
 
Aw damn Kevin, that's someone's great-gramma you're talking about. Ew.

-Spike
 
Arrgh! The visual ~ :crybaby:
 
Kevin has a point!
You may not really want to meet that special lady! She may not be so cute now! Besides, when that token was made, men liked ladies who were somewhat, shall we say, softer than we prefer them now! Back then, it was fashionable for your lady to be "well-fed". However you like your best girl today, consider having more of her as being the fashion then.
However, the token may possibly have some value. The Palace is reputed to be the oldest saloon that has been constantly operating west of the Mississippi River. The token may have some historical value, or it may be a clever replica. In any case, it would be fun to find out. I take my wife & daughter there regularly on Sunday afternoons. It is like stepping through a door and back 120 years. It is a real life history lesson. This is a real old west saloon.
It still looks much as it did back in the day. On Sunday afternoon, Jerry plays old songs on the old piano. He really makes the 100-year-old thing sing! Families, couples and strong men sit around to listen. There are often people in period costume hanging around, with guns on their hips. They are not paid, they just do it for fun.
The solid wood bar is still the original one from back in the day. The saloon itself is still in the old style, when mountain men would come to town for a dinner, a whiskey and a room for the night. They could even have a bath with hot water. If they had enough money, they could get a haircut. With luck, they could charm one of the ladies, but they were rarely free! The Palace is still the same place, with few exceptions.
The real differences now are that the ladies are now wives with families, who cannot be bribed. The poker chips are in display cabinets, and the rooms for rent are now offices. But the bullet holes in the tin ceilings are still as real as is the atmosphere. It is still like stepping through a door and back 120 years.
A Sunday afternoon in the Palace is a history lesson. It is also a lot of fun.
Oh, did I mention that they serve buffalo? They have that!

Also, on any given weekend, groups, families and etc. gather on the town square outside for picnics, and games. There are always women to watch, people relaxing, and weekend stuff going on. It is like the real America every day. Even on Tuesday afternoon, people gather on the town square to just hang out or have picnics. I have never seen this anywhere else.
It is so cool!
From April to September, there is an event of some kind mostly every other week. Then things liven up! There are arts fairs, concerts, all kinds of things.
Then there is Christmas. The whole town lights up. We have a 150ft Christmas tree. It is there all year, but we decorate it each year on the square. The whole downtown area is decked out for the holidays. We go all the way.
 
Brian you forgot to tell them the place burned down once back in the day. The reason the original bar is still there is the patrons grabbed the bar and carried it across the street. where of course they temporarily set up shop until the building was rebuilt. Thats dedication to your drinking establishment now. :cheers:
 
You are right John. A major bit of history that I forgot.
One of the main reasons for the longevity of the Palace bar is the tendency of frontier towns to burn down. Firefighting was not state-of-the-art then. Prescott burned down in 1901. It came rather late to the sport. Towns from Kansas to California burned much earlier.
The Palace Bar is over 30 feet of solid hardwood. It was built in the days when there was no veneer or other lighter material. This thing is really heavy! The back bar is the same length and depth, but it is over 10 feet tall!
When the fire came to Prescott, the patrons carried the front and back bar out of the building. This is a job that none of us modern he-men would consider without a big truck, at least one fork lift and a lot of power tools. These guys not only did that, they also moved the establishment's whole supply of booze, beer and food! Now that is some real priority setting! They know what's important!
There is a picture in the Sharlott Hall Museum of the whole of downtown burned to ashes. In the middle is the Palace Bar, surrounded by miners and cowboys. That is dedication perfectly described!!
 
So, yes your token may have some value. Next time you drive up the hill, bring it to the Sharlott Hall museum. They'll know what to do with it.
You might also try the Palace itself. They display a lot of museum pieces besides the bullet holes in the ceilings. Until recently, (in the past 30 years), it was still one of the last real saloons in America. It was one of the last establishments to offer whiskey, dinner, a room for rent, a bath and a haircut under one roof. Everything that a man needs when he comes to town from the forest. The Palace never dabbled in sex. But until the 1970's, some of the "special ladies" were always around, making the place a one-stop-shopping destination for the mountain man.
I have not seen anything like this token before. It may well be unique. The Palace or the museum may want it. On the other hand, it may be nothing more than a recently minted joke token.
Because I remodel stuff for a living, I have met the owners of a number of the historic businesses downtown. The Palace is not one of them. I have no inside connection to help you with. I wish I could.
 
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