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Before the Crystal Palace Saloon, the Golden Eagle Brewery stood in its
place, built in 1879. The “brewery” featured fine bock beer, a free lunch,
a display of wild animals, and gambling. However, the establishment would
be short lived when it suffered damage in
Tombstone's
first fire on June 22, 1881. The brewery did not reopen and in May, 1882,
when the town suffered yet another fire, the building was destroyed.
Afterwards, Frederick Wehrfritz, built another building on the original
site of the Golden Eagle Brewery, at the corner
of the newly named streets of Fifth and Allen. On
July 23,
1882,
the Crystal
Palace opened its doors for business.
Built to
attract the “finer” elements of
Tombstone,
the saloon provided shining crystal tableware, elegant décor, the finest
wines and spirits, and as many as five bartenders standing on duty to
quickly serve their patrons around the clock. From the start, owner
Wehrfritz also insisted on strictly honest games of chance.
Though it was just one
of 110 establishments licensed to sell liquor in the booming city, the new
establishment soon attracted the most prominent businessmen. Open 24 hours
a day, the Crystal Palace attracted everyone from the doctors, to lawyers
to mining officials, as well as other hangers on wishing to “rub” elbows
with the prominent, but would brook no “funny business” within its walls,
protecting itself from the many bullet holes found in other “lesser”
establishments in the community.
This might also have been due to its second floor tenants, which included
some of more recognizable names in the city, including
Virgil Earp's
office, acting in the dual roles of
Tombstone
Marshal and a U.S. Deputy Marshal. Next to his office was that of Dr.
George Goodfellow. Other offices housed Dr. Matthews, who also acted as
the town’s coroner and would run the investigation into the deaths of the
McLaury brothers and
Billy Clanton after the
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral;
and Justice of the Peace,
Wells Spicer, who would also play a part in the
trial of the Earp faction.
But,
like the other businesses in
Tombstone,
when the town began to die, so did the business. It finally shut down
altogether when Prohibition was enacted. The gaming tables and bars were
soon removed, and later the entire second story. The building then made
its way housing a variety of businesses including a Greyhound bus station,
a ware house, and a movie theatre. However, when Prohibition was repealed,
it wasn’t long before it once again became a saloon.
In 1963,
the then not so elegant saloon was still serving drinks to patrons when
Historic
Tombstone
Adventures, an organization formed to preserve and restore many of the
town's fabled landmarks, purchased the historic property.
For the
next several years, the building underwent a restoration to bring back its
former elegance with as much of its authentic detail as possible,
including the addition of a second story, a replica of its once glorious
bar, and restoration of its original copper ceiling and adobe walls.
Today, the Crystal Palace Saloon again serves
fine food and spirits to its customers 1880's elegance, complete with
servers and bartenders dress in period costume.
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, © May, 2007
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