The cornerstone of historic “Whiskey Row,” the Hotel St. Michael represents the coming of age of Prescott’s hostelries. Built after the great fire of 1900, the hotel offered “gracious accommodations” and the most advanced amenities of the era. Distinguished visitors have included President Theodore Roosevelt, screen cowboy Tom Mix, Western author Zane Grey, Senator Barry Goldwater, and champion boxers John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain. The fine early 20th century accommodations of the “Hotel St. Mike” are a reminder of Prescott’s colorful historic past.

At the center of Prescott lies lovely, old-fashioned Courthouse Square. The white granite County Courthouse, built in 1916, is surrounded by green grass and the deep shade of towering elms. It’s a place where people stroll, walk their dogs, bring their kids—where neighbors can meet and chat, then step across the street for a burger at historic Kendall’s or a cappuccino at Hotel St. Michael’s. The Square is the perfect setting for parades, summer concerts, and arts and antique fairs. Prescott is Arizona's “Christmas City”; a great hometown gathering celebrates the lighting of seasonal decorations.

Prescott’s Historic Palace Bar opened in September 1877. The oldest frontier saloon in Arizona was also a hiring fair for range hands and election central for local politicos; mineral claims were traded over the bar. Town Constable Virgil Earp, a regular patron, was joined by his brothers, Wyatt and Morgan, on their way to the OK Corral. (Their pal Doc Holliday lingered in Prescott to relieve some of its poker players of $10,000.) Patrons couldn’t save the Palace from the 1900 Whiskey Row fire, but they did haul the ornately carved bar to safety in the plaza. See this fine 1880s antique in the elegantly restored Palace!

In 1921 a group of Prescott citizens got together to celebrate and perpetuate American Indian ceremonies and dances. Calling themselves the Smoki People, they secured the help of Civilian Works Administration labor in 1935 to build a museum of native stone and wood. The Smoki Museum houses irreplaceable collections of prehistoric and contemporary pottery and other artifacts, including outstanding collections of Southwest basketry and kachinas, as well as artist Kate Cory's numerous photographs, paintings, and documents.

“Nob Hill” harbors some of the lovely Victorian homes typical of Prescott’s Historic District. John Lawler, original purchaser of the block, emulated San Francisco’s famous neighborhood, based on financial and social status. A short block from Prescott’s Courthouse Square, the 1894 Marks home was built with a Queen Anne flavor by local merchant Jake Marks. Although he was a wealthy cattle rancher and mine owner, Marks was also a wholesale liquor dealer, and Lawler would only sell him the last, lowest lot on the hill. This restored home is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Prescott’s Henry Goldwater House was built in 1894 at 217 E. Union on “Nob Hill.” The legendary Goldwater family had an early presence in Prescott’s history; Henry, uncle of the U.S. Senator, was one of the brothers who founded Goldwater Mercantile Company, and brother Morris served as Prescott’s mayor. Their father, Big Mike Goldwater, and his brother Joe contracted to supply the government at nearby Fort Whipple, among other ventures. The very colorful story of these two self-made entrepreneurs, émigrés from tsarist Russia, should not be missed.

Prescott served as capital of the Arizona Territory during some of the years before statehood began in 1912. Built in 1864 as the Territory’s first official residence, the Old Governor's Mansion, labeled “Arizona's Mount Vernon” by Sharlot Mabridth Hall, still stands on its original site at the heart of the Sharlot Hall Museum. The Ponderosa log “mansion” originally housed the newly appointed Territorial Governor, John N. Goodwin, and Secretary of the Territory Richard McCormick; it is open to the public.

Prescott, as Arizona’s Territorial Capital in the late 1870s, was home to pathfinder and mapmaker, California senator, Civil War general, presidential hopeful, accidental gold millionaire, and would-be railroad magnate John C. Frémont: this Western legend also served as fifth territorial governor of Arizona (1878-1881). The home, built in 1875, housed Frémont and his wife, Jessie Benton, daughter of Thomas Hart Benton and a strong character in her own right. Its sophisticated construction reflects Prescott’s rapid growth after creation of the Territory in 1864. It stands today on the grounds of the Prescott’s Sharlot Hall Museum.

Prescott watched in astonishment and pride on an April day in 1974 as the Bashford House lumbered down Gurley Street to Sharlot Hall Museum. The 1876 house, remodeled by one of the Bashford brothers, early merchants in Prescott and figures in Territorial government, was to be torn down for a Jack-In-The-Box. But Delbert Pierce led a community effort to fund the lovely Victorian home’s removal to the Museum—and Jack-In-The-Box even kicked in $2,000. The Bashford House now serves as the Museum Store and is still the only Victorian home in Prescott regularly open to the public.

The Prescott Fine Arts Association acquired this property in 1969, adapting it for a theater and art gallery—thus re-using a historically significant building for the whole community’s benefit. Built next door to the Sisters of St. Joseph hospital, this substantial brick church opened in 1895. Sacred Heart was designed by Frank Parker under the direction of Father Alfred Quetu. Built in the “Sober Gothic Style,” with pointed arches and decorative brickwork, it is one of the best examples of religious architecture in Arizona. The original steeple, 115 feet tall, was removed in 1930 after several lightning strikes.