“Hoist a Cold One”, written by Melody Groves with great photos by Myke Groves, is a gem of a book my wife discovered. It covers historic bars of the Southwest. This couple traveled around Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and of course Colorado looking for old historic bars from days of old. What a great idea. I wish I had thought of it. By “bars”, I mean the pieces of furniture that make up the “front” bar, over which the drinks and beers are served to sitting or standing patrons, the “back” bar which was usually adorned by a mirror or two, shelving for the various bottles of liquor and racks for the glasses. Often there was also a liquor cabinet at one end which housed extra bottles of booze.
Most of these pieces of furniture were hand crafted in the mid to late 1800’s. While some were imported from Europe, many were made here in the US. All of them were handcrafted by wood working artisans in cherry, walnut or mahogany, with a lot of hand carved detail. Wonderful pieces of “art”. It is difficult to imagine these fine pieces of furniture and accompanying mirrors, traveling over hundreds and even thousands of miles by whatever means of conveyance that was available at the time. It’s a wonder that any of them arrived safely.
As a result of Prohibition, during which establishments in the business of selling and serving alcohol were closed down, these beautiful bars were removed and hidden from the Ladies of Temperance, saving them from destruction. Many were “stored” in Old Mexico. When Prohibition was lifted, they began to resurface and once again found homes in saloons, bars and taverns.
Interestingly, in my travels searching out material for paintings and looking for old classic signage and gold letters on window glass, I have found myself in the same room as some of these historic pieces of furniture…strictly for purposes of research you understand. In our neck of the woods, the book lists The Diamond Belle in the Strater Hotel, Durango; Grumpy’s Saloon in the Grand Imperial, Silverton; The Brown Bear Café in Silverton, and the Silver Eagle Saloon in Ouray.
Recently I was in the Lone Cone Saloon in Norwood, which was overlooked by the author. They have one of these classic old bars that was made in the late 1800’s and shipped from the Midwest. A beautiful piece of furniture. The carvings and woodwork are outstanding. You ought to check it out. The green chile burger, with a cold draught is recommended.
I believe I might have to look for other similar pieces of “art” the author may have missed and hoist a cold one in salute to the craftsmen.