Menger Bar

Theodore Roosevelt was a maniac. When he was delivering a speech as a presidential candidate in 1912, he was shot in the chest and continued his speech for an hour. He used to go skinny-dipping in the Potomac while he was president. After his presidency, at the age of 55, he participated in an expedition to the Amazon and nearly died in the process. The list of stories goes on and on.

So it's no surprise I heard a ridiculous Teddy Roosevelt story when I visited the #MengerBar at San Antonio's Menger Hotel, a historic establishment built in 1859 on the site of the Battle of the Alamo.

The story goes that while recruiting the Rough Riders for the Spanish-American War in 1898, Teddy set up an enlistment table right inside the bar and recruited 1,250 volunteers. At one point, Teddy and a fellow officer made a wager to see who could shoot their revolver closest to a window without hitting it. To this day, the bullet holes remain for visitors to see.

It's a fantastic story. Really whets the appetite for adventure and heavy drinking. The only problem? It's not true.

In a 2005 article for 'Texas Monthly' titled "Texas History 101", writer Ryan Vogt reveals that, according to the hotel's longtime PR director, "... the holes appear to be nail or drill holes and don’t match the caliber of any bullet available at the time." He also adds, "although Roosevelt probably used the bar as a meeting place, the official recruitment station was outside."

But plenty of stories get made up about bars, especially old ones like Menger Bar. It's still an amazing place, built in 1887 as an exact replica of London’s House of Lords Pub. It moved a few times over the years, the first time in 1910 due to hotel construction. It was also taken apart and put into storage during Prohibition.

But it reopened in the hotel in 1949 and has been slinging stiff drinks and tall tales ever since. And it still hosts a party for Teddy's birthday every year on October 27th.

It’s a true Texas classic. If you're in SATX, you have to drop by. And you won’t even need to enlist in a cavalry regiment when you do.