Just Off Whiskey Row...Lyzzards Lounge and Coyote Joe's Bar and Grill

While we were in Hooligan's Pub, The Hippie suggested we go off Whiskey Row to one of his favorite bars that is just a block over. Lyzzard's Lounge is located on 120 N. Cortez St. in Prescott. Located in a building built in 1905, Lyzzard's is a really cool place.

Lyzzard's boasts to have one of the oldest back bars in the Southwest. I believe it because the workmanship is absolutely fantastic. Not only does it date back to the 1880's, but it is one of Brunswick's finest bars. This bar was built in Chicago and painstakingly shipped down the Mississippi River, around the horn and then up to San Francisco where it was then put on a wagon and pulled through the desert to Prescott, AZ. The backbar was then delivered to it's current location in 1905. After taking a long look, the bar really takes on a life of it's own. It holds more liquor than any other bar I have ever seen in a bar. Now, if you are a beer drinker or a tequila drinker, Lyzzard's has you covered. They serve a wide variety of tequila and imported beer that once you are there, you really don't need to venture far. As you can see to the right, the liquor cabinet is jammed with libations of every kind!

There is a small spot to play darts if you like but in a place like this, it is more about the entertainment. Below is an original picture of the bar that dates back to the early 1900's.

Lyzzard's fully supports local acts as well as some national acts. The Supersuckers, a band that opened for Social Distortion here in Cleveland Ohio at the House of Blues, played at Lyzzard's recently.

If you just want to come in early in the afternoon, have a drink and play some pool, this is a nice relaxing place to take that all in. The Hippie was right, his favorite place could become my favorite place in no time. Wish I still lived in Arizona because Lizzard's would be one of my favorite watering holes!

The last stop on our tour of Whiskey Row and Prescott AZ was Coyote Joe's Bar and Grill. This was a great historical ending to our crawl. Let me tell you, I was crawling! Housed in what used to be the Arizona Hotel in the late 1880's, this is the first location of the brothels established in Arizona. Once you walk through the door, you realize there are two options. Drink at the bar and or enjoy a game of pool in the game room or go straight out back to the patio where you are greeted by another bar and an outdoor stage to enjoy the sounds of many local bands. One of the interesting things about Coyote Joe's is that many believe it is haunted, mostly by the many prostitutes from back in the late 1800's. Everyone from the patrons and employees to the owners have heard or seen things that would make most peoples skin crawl, but the ghostly activity seems to be friendly. Underneath the building and throughout Whiskey Row are underground tunnels beneath the bars which used to house the many opium dens and laundry routs run by the Asian immigrants.

For me and the Hippie, we enjoyed the patio where the evening was just about to descend and cooler temps were coming. We had spent a long but very fine day in Prescott and Whiskey Row and a beer on the patio let us reflect on the day.

If there is a place anywhere in the country to just enjoy a drink and relax, Coyote Joe's was that place.

Jersey Lilly Saloon and Hooligan's Irish Pub

If you plan on doing a pub crawl, the Jersey Lilly would be the best place to do last. Located on the second floor, you might want to take that drink out to the balcony for one of the best views of the Prescott Courthouse Courtyard across the street.

I spoke with Tommy Meredith, owner of the Jersey Lilly Saloon for the past 8+ years and he shared with me a write-up from a book called Historic Prescott by the Prescott Chamber of Commerce in 2004 and it had some amazing stories in there. In 1877, the building was The Palace Hotel. In 1900, the fire that completely wiped out Whiskey Row made silent the drinking, gambling and the cohorting with saloon girls silent. But the owners of the Palace Hotel would not give it up and they vowed to rebuild it better than ever. And they did. Equiped with a saloon, restaurant, barber shop and 20 private rooms. Because of todays building standards, most of the rooms are now offices with only a few rooms remaining. Some of the notables to stay at the Palace hotel were director Sam Peckinpah who stayed there while filming "Junior Bonner" and Janis Joplin who called the Palace her "home away from home."

The stain glass mural as you climb the stairs to the Jersey Lilly is beautiful. Gamblers drinking and enjoying the saloon girls as they partied.

Walking down the hall towards the saloon, to the right, you can see the antique phone booth.

I talked to Tommy and asked about the history of the back bar. He said that the back bar has no real history other than some of it is old while most is piece work. Well, as far as I can see, it's some beautiful piecework.

The problems that Tommy sees today with what's going on here on Whiskey Row is growth. It's killing the vibe of the old west and Tommy is afraid that the new stringent DUI laws as well as the smoking bans are going to bury it even further. The other thing that is tough for business is the growing trend of gallarie and not enough history. I concur with that rationale. Some things shouldn't be messed with and that is the whole idea of the old west and the saloon.

Well, leave it to an Irishman to actually find an Irish pub, even on Whiskey Row. This is a place I could enjoy tossing back a few whiskeys, considering that they have 20+ Irish Whiskeys! Join the club and if you sample all of their Whiskey's in a calendar year, you will be immortalized on Hooligan's "Irish Whiskey Hall of Fame." What more could you ask for?

Hooligan's Irish Pub is the newest bar on the "Row" opening in 2003 and owned by Patrick and Nancy O'Brien who definitely wanted to bring some Irish to Whiskey Row!

I tossed back a Jameson and had a Guiness to make sure I took in the full and proper Irish tradition I grew up with. But there is more to this pub than just a shot and a beer. Hooligan's has Signature Ic Cream Drinks as well as a full line of Irish beers.

Even though St. Patrick's day is their biggest day of the year (they are open 365 days a year), Hooligan's has a Halfway to St. Paddy's Day Party on September 17. Why wait, huh? We don't need to wait for the big day to party and we don't need any excuses to drink now do we?

As you can see, there is a stage above the bar which is really cool. Behind the bar, Hooligan's has a separate room called the Parrot Bay Room. More for the college crowd because of it's specialty drinks and drink specials, this tropical themed bar lend a different look to the vast desert and mountains of Arizona. You can reserve any kind of party you want in the Parrot Bay Room, it holds up to 50 people and is inclusive. Great place to have a party