A Night on Whiskey Row: Prescott's Historic Saloon Street

Some towns have a main street. Prescott has Whiskey Row, a single, storied block on Montezuma Street, facing the grassy Courthouse Plaza, that has been the beating heart of the town’s nightlife since the 1860s.

A little history

Prescott was born in 1864 when gold turned up in the central Arizona highlands, and for a time it was the capital of the Arizona Territory. The strip of Montezuma Street across from the courthouse filled with saloons, by some counts around 40 of them packed into one block, which is how it earned its name.

In July 1900, a fire tore through downtown and leveled the Row. The most famous story of that night: patrons of The Palace hauled the saloon’s ornate carved bar across the street to the Courthouse Plaza and kept right on drinking while the building burned. The bar survived, and so did the Row, rebuilt in brick and still going.

What to do on the Row today

It’s a walk-once, wander-the-block kind of evening:

• The Palace, billed as Arizona’s oldest frontier saloon (1877), with that rescued Brunswick bar still in place. Great for dinner and a sense of history.
• Live music, several rooms have bands most weekends, from country two-stepping to rock; the Row is at its liveliest after dark on a Friday or Saturday.
• Dinner & drinks, saloons, pubs, and restaurants line both sides; you won’t walk far for a good meal or a local beer.
• Courthouse Plaza, right across the street, the tree-shaded square hosts festivals and concerts much of the year and is the prettiest spot in town for a pre-dinner stroll.

A few tips

Weekend nights are busy (that’s the fun). Park once and explore on foot. And plan your ride home, our two cabins are a quiet 15–20 minutes away in the Groom Creek pines, so you can enjoy the Row and still wake up to birdsong.

Make a night of it: see what’s open and pair Whiskey Row with a day on the lakes and trails.