Silver  Dollar Bar

Taking its name from the coins embedded into its bar and furnishings, this landmark has been a favorite Jackson Hole gathering place for 75 years. 

// By Samantha Simma

“When the Wort brothers opened the Silver Dollar in 1950, the idea was to create a bar where the community could gather for good music, fun, and fellowship,” says Jim Waldrop, general manager of the historic Wort Hotel. “We have carried forward that commitment.”

In opening the Wort Hotel in 1941, the Wort brothers, John and Jess, fulfilled their father’s dream of the family owning a luxury hotel in downtown Jackson. Embodying the rugged elegance of the American West, the hotel was built on the site of the Wort family’s former homestead—composed of four lots Charles Wort purchased in 1917. The Silver Dollar Bar, which was added to the hotel in 1950, soon became one of its most iconic features.

The Silver Dollar is home to 5,056 silver dollars. “We believe this to be the largest collection of Morgan 1921 silver dollars in the world,” Waldrop says. The Morgan dollar, named after its designer George T. Morgan, was first minted in 1878. Inlaid in the original 46-foot bar top are 2,032 silver dollars; 1,392 adorn the new bar; and 1,632 are atop the Showroom’s bar. Hundreds of additional silver dollars are embedded throughout the hotel—in stained glass, tables, and custom furniture. While the initial run of coins acquired for the hotel came directly from the Denver Mint, Bill Baxter, the hotel’s most recent owner, connected with coin dealers throughout the country to track down additional 1921 Morgan dollars for the 2024 remodel. 

A fire on August 5, 1980 closed the hotel until June of the following year. Initially, the hope was to reopen the bar while the hotel underwent repairs, but the extent of the water damage led to the closure of the entire hotel. Nancy Takeda—whose 60-year tenure at the Wort Hotel began in 1963, when she was just 13 years old, and who, over the years, found herself in nearly every employment position at the hotel—was onsite during the fire, and the recovery. “They put an armed guard in the bar until they decided they weren’t going to be able to reopen,” Takeda recalls. “Then, they loaded the bar into a moving truck and took it to Jackson State Bank for storage.” 

“The Showroom is alive and well today with four nights of live music anchoring a lively downtown music scene.”

—Jim Waldrop, Wort Hotel general manager

Today, the tables in the Silver Dollar Bar are branded with the Wort Hotel’s signature brand. But Takeda recalls a previous iteration of tables that were adorned with local brands: “We had a branding party; we invited all of the ranches, anybody who had a brand, and it was $50 per branding. All of the brands were local, and it was a big party for the bar,” she says. After the fire, those original tables were too waterlogged to salvage, but they were the inspiration for their branded replacements.

Appearances by a young Willie Nelson, Doc Watson, and Roy Clark helped establish a legacy of world class performers at the Silver Dollar. “After the 1980 fire, the Silver Dollar Showroom was replaced with a series of luxury guest rooms,” Waldrop says. In 2016, Baxter brought the Showroom back to life, and it has since hosted country music legends Marty Stewart, Larry Gatlin, and Mac McAnally; and bluegrass greats Del McCoury and Jerry Douglas among many others. “The Showroom is alive and well today with four nights of live music anchoring a lively downtown music scene,” Waldrop says.

Of course, live music and dancing were casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic era. Still, some patrons found a workaround. “When we were finally able to open, we could only have a certain number of people in the bar,” Takeda says. “But you couldn’t dance. One night, the windows of the Showroom were wide open and there were people dancing out on the sidewalk. They were doing the Western swing out there!” 

“The famous phrase ‘Meet me at The Wort’ actually meant meet me at the Silver Dollar,” Waldrop says. “The Silver Dollar uniquely attracts locals and travelers, ranchers and snowboarders, young and old—everyone is welcome and feels at home in the Silver Dollar.”

The Recent Renovation

“We wanted to create a space that belonged and would enhance the rich history and tradition of the Silver Dollar Bar and Grill,” Waldrop says about the bar’s 2024 renovation and expansion into the former grill area. After six months of work, the Silver Dollar Bar opened in May 2024 with “The Showroom.”  “Creating an exact replica of the Silver Dollar Bar was at the forefront of the project,” Waldrop says. “Every element, from the leather panels to the silver dollars, their spacing and depth, was exact and intentional.” A larger stage was added, and the dance floor was expanded. “Back in the day, the Wort had the Green Back Room, but people referred to it simply as the ‘showroom’ because it had a lot of acts,” Waldrop says. “It was the entertainment venue of the hotel. By naming [the area] the Showroom, we’re just re-introducing a Jackson Hole icon.” JH