Not Another One Like It

This bar, known as "The LaFayette Antique Mirror Bar," is one of a kind. It was made in 1845, in New York City. The reputed cost of the bar was $10,000. The bar was installed in the LaFayette Hotel, in the heart of the city of Utica, N.Y. Here, it became known as the "LaFayette Mirror Bar." When the LaFayette Hotel was being torn down in 1921, the bar was sold to a Mr. Dave McLaughin. At that time he owned what is now the Falls Hotel in Oriskany Falls, N.Y. He paid $60,000 for it, not counting the cost of dismantling, transporting, and reassembling it at his hotel.

The LaFayette Mirror Bar came apart in pegged sections. Each section was carefully marked so it could be put back together like a jigsaw puzzle. It was then transported by horse and buggy from Utica to Oriskany Falls, a distance of about 20 miles. The mirrors, approximately 250 of them of various sizes, were laid on beds of straw in the wagon. Amazingly, not one mirror was broken. The wood is solid oak and every piece was hand crafted. All the mirrors were beveled and are about a quarter of an inch thick. If you place a coin against one of the mirrors, you will be able to see how thick they are. Try comparing with an ordinary mirror of today.

It is interesting to note that in spite of their age the mirrors retain their clarity. Of special interest are the two stenciled mirrors at each end of the bar, the design on these mirrors was etched in acid and as such the detail is as clear as the day there were installed.

The three chandeliers are of cut glass. The center chandelier has four large tear-shaped amber cut glass ornaments. The rail in front of the bar is of solid imported Italian marble, as are all the marble columns. The statues are original and made of terra cotta, one represents air, the other water.

Last but not least to be noted are the numerous hand carvings in the oak bar, foremost of which are the two life-like Lion's heads at each end of the bar. These were carved out of solid blocks of aok. The top of the bar is one solid piece of aok twenty-eight feet long!

In 1977, Mark Mitchell and Nick Zorich purchased the bar for $125,000 from the Falls Hotel in New York. It was transported to Seattle, WA where it remained in storage for thirteen years. In 1989 the bar was restored at a cost of $80,000 by Rick Pinney and Havis Ratterree, experts in wood working and antique restoration and placed in the Beach House at Shilshole Marina. In 1998 the bar was brought here to the Drift-On-Inn Roadhouse Casino.

The LaFayette Antique Mirror is genuinely unique. There is not another like it anywhere! We invite you to visit The Drift-On-Inn Roadhouse on Aurora Avenue North. It is worth the trip anytime.

Courtesy of The Drift-On-Inn Roadhouse On Aurora.