In 1864, Prescott was designated as the inaugural capital of the Arizona Territory. During that era, the town revolved around the notorious "Whiskey Row," where one could encounter dubious characters and legendary figures of the Wild West, such as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.
Hotel St. Michael has stood as the cornerstone of Prescott’s historic downtown since the late 19th century. With it’s finely wrought woodwork and art-deco stylings, the hotel evokes a time when Arizona stood on the edge of the New American Frontier. Overlooking the Courthouse Plaza and the infamous Whiskey Row, Hotel St. Michael has seen Prescott change and grows over the course of a century, though it stands stalwart, unyielding, as a reminder of the time gone before. It is a familiar landmark to locals and tourists alike, an architectural centerpiece proclaiming the history and heritage of its quaint southwestern surroundings.
Whiskey Row proprietors know that if not for the Row’s integral link to the Old and Wild West, it is just another row of shops, and one might as well visit a strip mall in Phoenix. And those bricks must stay. They represent that link more than anything else along the most legendary quarter block—that we call our own—in Arizona. Surviving the Great Fire from 1900, most of the bricks cleaned and stacked by these boys are part of today’s Hotel St. Michael.
One of Hotel St. Michael's unique features is the Otis Traction Elevator that was installed in 1925. It was the first elevator installed in Prescott.
Whiskey Row is full of some of Prescott's oldest history. This street is named Whiskey Row because of the large number of saloons in one place. Whiskey Row developed after a fire in July of 1900 destroyed the entire block. When reconstructed, there was an inordinate amount of bars rebuilt in the area. At one point the block hosted a total of 40 saloons.
