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All the United States New Mexico Madrid Mine Shaft Tavern
Gastro Obscura

Mine Shaft Tavern

Home to New Mexico's longest bar, this watering hole also has a mining museum and a haunted history.

Madrid, New Mexico

Added By
Larissa Hayden
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The long bar, with the dollar bills in the background.   Pat Canova / Alamy Stock Photo
The bar’s stage features art by Tinkertown folk artist Ross Ward.   Larissa Hayden
The view down the long bar.   Larissa Hayden
Enter through a mining-like tunnel.   Larissa Hayden
Dollar bills line the walls.   Larissa Hayden
  Larissa Hayden
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  tylercole / Atlas Obscura User
  Larissa Hayden
Visit the historic tavern.   Larissa Hayden
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
  cait7911 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In a town of about 204 residents, you might not expect to find the longest bar in New Mexico, but that's just one of many unexpected features of Madrid.

Pronounced "MAD-drid," this former mining town may have been reborn as an artists' community, but remnants of its history are pervasive. The Mine Shaft Tavern, originally opened in 1897 and rebuilt following a fire in 1947, features a 40-foot pine bar built for the miners to spread out across the space after a long day in the mines. The town's watering hole features a tunnel leading to the front door, a rail train parked outside, and a mining museum on the property featuring a collection of historic artifacts.

Both the bar and the town are rumored to host a few ghosts. Some say that it was Madrid's role in providing the coal that helped fuel the secret home of the Manhattan Project that led to its haunting. Mine Shaft employees are generous with their firsthand accounts of ghost stories, and ghost-hunters frequent the location.

Decorating the space are colorful vignettes painted by Tinkertown folk artist Ross Ward, as well as hand-decorated dollar bills lining the walls. It's a custom for visitors to decorate a dollar bill while they're enjoying a margarita or the award-winning MadChile burger, and then gift it to the bar to display. It's estimated that there are thousands of dollars in decorated bills on the walls.

Today, the Mine Shaft Tavern is a lively space that hosts bands on weekends, theater performances in its Engine House Theater, and an annual Christmas parade led by a yak.

Related Tags

Bars Unique Restaurants & Bars Mines Haunted Mining

Community Contributors

Added By

larissahayden

Edited By

tylercole, cait7911

  • tylercole
  • cait7911

Published

December 19, 2019

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Sources
  • https://www.facebook.com/pg/Madridtavern/about/
  • https://www.sfreporter.com/news/2018/10/22/theres-a-new-tour-in-town/
  • https://books.google.cz/books?id=oLOhPNJJlfcC&pg=PA245&lpg=PA245&dq=%22mine+shaft+tavern%22+murder&source=bl&ots=OjAYS6bUjz&sig=ACfU3U1o9Erg_C5tkyv0cge3cc8N5WZkNA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjkv9y0xsHmAhXNTxUIHXT1Aw8Q6AEwAnoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22mine%20shaft%20tavern%22%20murder&f=false
  • https://books.google.cz/books?id=24teZxI_ULEC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=%22mine+shaft+tavern%22+bar+longest+feet&source=bl&ots=Vz0lat9Sil&sig=ACfU3U3t9shAYxefiU7Fl5Yhf2Ld7G18FA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjej67xx8HmAhW0ThUIHdi8BLsQ6AEwBnoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22mine%20shaft%20tavern%22%20bar%20longest%20feet&f=false
Mine Shaft Tavern
2846 Hwy 14
Madrid, New Mexico, 87010
United States
35.405273, -106.153269
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

Madrid Christmas Parade

Madrid, New Mexico

miles away

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Madrid

Madrid

New Mexico

Places 3

Nearby Places

Madrid Christmas Parade

Madrid, New Mexico

miles away

Connie's Photo Park

Madrid, New Mexico

miles away

Los Cerrillos

Los Cerrillos, New Mexico

miles away

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Photo of Madrid

Madrid

New Mexico

Places 3

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