Saloons

Saloons are public drinking establishments that primarily serve alcoholic beverages and often meals and lodging. The term derives from the French salon, meaning a large room for social gatherings, and entered English in the early modern period to describe public rooms in homes and inns. From the mid-19th century, in the United States, the word came to denote a specific type of bar common in towns and especially in the frontier and mining camps, distinguished by a long wooden bar, swinging doors, spittoons, and sometimes gambling tables or entertainment.

In the American West, saloons functioned as social hubs for men; they offered conversation, news, and political discussion. Many were owned by local entrepreneurs who also ran lodging or provided a male-oriented social space. Women’s access varied, with some establishments more restricted, while others allowed patrons or were connected to restaurants, entertainment venues, or temperance-oriented movements. Saloons often served as venues for games, live music, and informal social exchange, and they could play a role in local commerce, politics, and community life.

Typical features include a long bar, rows of stools, and a partially segregated interior that could include back rooms for private business or gambling. They were sometimes associated with gambling devices such as cards and dice, and with entertainment ranging from music to bawdy performances. The culture of saloons has been explored in historical study and popular media as a symbol of frontier life, social interaction, and the complexities of urban development in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Decline came with Prohibition and shifting urban leisure patterns, but the term persists in some regions and in modern branding as a nostalgic or thematic descriptor for bars and taverns.