The City and the Saloon: Denver, 1858-1916

by Thomas J. Noel

During Denver's wild ride from frontier mining town to twentieth-century metropolis, the city's saloons, like those of many other western frontier towns, played a vital role in the development of the city. Now with a new preface, Tom Noel's classic study, The City and the Saloon, is a liquid history of how Denver's bars both shaped and reflected the Mile High City's birth and adolescence.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1985

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The City and the Saloon” by Thomas J.Noel, a history of Denver’s saloons and bars from 1858-1916. It details that many bars started as rough mud sheds and traces the first bars back to the 1850s when Denver made its name as a gold rush town (or at least a town near the Coloradan gold rush). Ferry St (later named 11th), near Wazee in Auraria (the town of this area, as it was once named) was where most early taverns were set up. The book explains that the saloon was an extremely important institution in the decades between 1858 and prohibition in 1916, being a political and legal hub where court cases were decided, a financial hub where you could store money, a place to live (beds above the bar room), even a place of worship for church goers, or a place to read (“reading rooms”). However, saloons were also extremely dangerous, particularly in the 1800s - homicides by gunfire were extremely common. A sign in one bar at the time read “Please don’t shoot the piano man, he’s doing the best he can”. Gun fire, especially at saloons with gambling opportunities, was all too common. Saloons were also a place for immigrants to be with their own ilk and also harbored unionists.

This book does an excellent job of explaining Denver’s xenophobic and racist history. Native Denver citizens were particularly hateful towards Chinese and Italian peoples. In general, even the Irish and Germans were disliked and eventually ushered out. Saloons were important but they were also places of depravity, police officers finding women and children in horrible ways. Additionally, Denver saloons played a part in corrupting elections, which allowed Robert Speer to win his first mayoral election illegitimately.

Saloons made Denver famous as being a wild Western town, which attracted tourists. However, Prohibitionists fought against the saloon and won in 1916 when Denver enacted prohibition, 4 years before the nation did. When 1933 came and bars could return, it was not the same. The author blames the saloonists for not taking Prohibitionists seriously. There were plenty of warnings, even 20 years before prohibition. The Prohibitionists won.

Great book, lots of gory Denver history.

[Ramin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will be interesting for anyone interested in the history of Denver or the history of bars and saloons. I didn't realize that saloons played such a multifunctional role in pre-prohibition Denver. Also, many saloons were owned (and frequented) by immigrants. At one point, one third of Denver's saloons were owned by Germans, and the first liquor license issued in Colorado was to a German. It was also interesting learning about the context in which the prohibition movement (or "dry crusade") grew and eventually was successful.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fast and entertaining look at the influence of saloons in Denver. Dr. Noel only talks about the role of saloons before prohibition. Super interesting look at the social and political role of saloons in the frontier society. A great look at immigrant communities. Anyone who knows Dr. Noel can hear his voice come through in the writing; he is such a great story teller and he includes many of those stories in his text.

[Cassi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. It has so many of my favorite stories about Denver and explains so much of Denver and Colorado's lasting cultural nuances. The writing is not awesome, but the research is fantastic and the stories are great.