Drink at a Bar That’s Traveled More Than You

The gorgeous rosewood and mahogany cabinetry that displays liquor bottles at the Oxbow Dinner House & Pizza Co. (128 Front St., Prairie City, 541-820-4544) might hold the record for “bar that’s logged the most mileage.” Before landing in Eastern Oregon, its defining feature—hand carvings of two partially clothed women called the “twin virgins”—originated in Milan, Italy, in 1879. Those pieces then traveled across the Atlantic and up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, where the rest of the bar was completed. The finished product was then loaded onto another ship for a 21,000-mile, 9-month journey around South America’s Cape Horn, across the Columbia Bar and, after being transferred to a sternwheeler, up the Columbia River where it was unloaded in The Dalles. A combination of train and horse-drawn wagon hauled the precious cargo the rest of the way to the Heinenkraft Saloon in Prairie City, then moved one additional time in 1959 to its current location. You can pay your respects to all of the bar’s travels by taking a seat in front of the ladies, who look none the worse for wear.