110 Plaza
Socorro, NM
(575) 835-1193
http://www.socorro-nm.com/capitolbar.htm
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Food: Yes
Live Music: Yes
Hours: Monday—Saturday Noon-2am, Sunday Noon-Midnight
Type of Bar: Saloon
What to Drink: Beer & A Shot
Why You Should Go: Was once owned by a judge who held court in the saloon and imprisoned those found guilty in the back room and later became a speakeasy.
Today the Capitol Bar looks like just another small town bar. But look a little harder and you'll find a place drenched in history that reads like an old west novel.
The Capitol bar started life out as the Biavaschi Saloon in 1896 and was created to celebrate, serve and share the brother's locally grown and produced wine with townspeople and travellers alike. (Few people know that Socorro was one of the first areas in the U.S. that vineyards were planted. It even predates the Napa Valley.)
At the time of the bar's completion the town of Socorro New Mexico consisted of 3000 residents and 30 bars, an outrageous ratio by today's standards.
Throughout its checkered past it was owned by a judge, who held court inside the bar and is rumored to have had a hanging tree outside, used as a speakeasy, burned down a time or two and has become a local favorite of travelers, bikers, college students and politicians alike.