This week News 13 is taking a tour of the Cheyenne Saloon with the man who built and ran Orlando's Church Street Station during its heyday. Bob Snow is planning on reopening the once famous attraction later this year.
“It was all designed for live entertainment,” Bob Snow said of the Cheyenne Salloon. “You have to disregard the way it looks right now, it's been pillaged. All the gun collections are gone, and the bronzes are gone, and the artwork is gone, and the Buffalo Bill Wild West things, anything that could be moved and sold at auction was sold at auction.”
Scott Harris: This is still a pretty impressive place, even with nothing in it.
Bob Snow: Yeah, well, you ought to see it with about 700 people in it.
Harris: I have, Bob. I was one of them.
Snow: When it's four deep at the bar, and they're playing Patsy Cline, or Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, or when Marty Robbins opened this place. The first song that was ever done in the Cheyenne Saloon was Marty Robbins doing El Paso.
Harris: Almost every famous country western performer in the United States has played here.
Snow: Let me tell you a story. I was half-owner of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show with Monty Montana for many years, and we were putting on a show in Montana and a guy came up to me … and said 'that was a wonderful show,” and it was Johnny Cash. And I said, “Well, Johnny thank you so much,” and he said, “I understand you built the Cheyenne Saloon.” And I said, “Yes I did.” And he said, “Why didn't you ever ask me to play there.” He said, “All my friends played there, I watched it on Friday nights, it looked like the best looking saloon in the world, and I didn't play there, why didn't I ever play there?”
Harris: What was your answer?
Snow: I said, just because we screwed up, who'd a thought we could have got Johnny Cash?
Wednesday, Bob Snow will talk about what has to be done to bring the elaborate facility back, and make an offer to those who may have picked up a piece or two of the Cheyenne in years past.