The town too tough to die! (Tombestone)

Member Name: machar

Product:	Tombestone
Date:	22/08/01 (213 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Birdcage theatre, history?

Disadvantages: tourist tat

What a motto for town! However, it is also an extremely apt motto as it sums up Tombstone completely. Everyone has heard of Tombstone as the old Wild West town but did you know that it is still there and still thriving supported by thousands of tourists?

I'll give you a little bit of the background to Tombstone but only a little, as this isn't a history lesson! Tombstone was founded in 1877 by a gold prospector called Ed Schieffelin who actually struck it rich surprisingly! The town quickly became a rowdy silver mining town with its fair share of saloons, gambling halls and bordellos. By 1881 the town had a population of 10, 000 and it was the county seat. This was also the year of the famous shoot out at the OK Corral in which the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday gunned down the three of the Clanton cowboy gang. Unfortunately the silver boom didn't last long and the mines closed down. However, tough old Tombstone survived and became a National Historic Landmark in 1962.

So what is now left in Tombstone for the visitor? Well there are a lot of old Western buildings and there are lots of gunfight re-enactments to keep the kids happy. I'll describe the main sights below.

OK Corral - I was reliably informed that this isn't the real one but a reconstruction. Here they have gunfights performed by acting troupes daily at 2pm. This often sells out quite quickly so I would suggest getting your ticket ASAP.

Historama - this is situated next to the OK Corral and provides a 26min presentation of the history of Tombstone using animated figures, movies and narration by the actor Vincent Price. This is open from 9am - 4pm and costs $2.50 with children under 6 free.

Six-gun Wild West Show - this re-enactment fitted in with our schedule and it was easy to find on the map which is why we ended up there! It was held in a courtyard where there was a patio restaurant and bar so you could actually have your lun
ch while you were watching the show. It was the usual mix of history, comedy and a lot of loud bangs. Please be very careful if you are taking young children there, the family next to us had to leave as their young daughter was so scared with all the noise! It was amusing and there was plenty of audience interaction but it did seem a bit tacky. The performances take place at 11.30am, 1pm and 3.30pm (it lasts about 30mins) with admission costing about $3.

Bird cage theatre - of all the places I visited in tombstone this is the place I would most highly recommend. The theatre is situated at the end of the main street (Allen Street east end) and is the ONLY original building dating from the town's heyday and they are rightly proud of this. The theatre got its name from the 14 bed sized draped cages suspended from the ceilings used by the "lady employees" to entertain their clients. Its an amazing place when you walk in from the bright sunlight to the dim interior you really feel as if you are stepping back in time. In the main area in front of the stage they have a large collection of objects from the towns "Wild" era. There is everything from bathtubs to typewriters! All around the walls are photos, newspaper cuttings and portraits. It really did let you see what life was like. There are bullet holes all over the place - in the walls, floors and ceiling. It was a rough place! You can go behind the stage into the prop storage areas where there are original stage screens from the plays that were performed and information on the actors and actresses that passed through. There was also a horse drawn hearse funnily enough! Downstairs was the gambling and bar area and some more private rooms for "entertaining" clients. This was amazing as it looked as though all the cowboys had just left minutes before we entered the room. The card game was in full swing with cards and chips scattered across the green table. At t
he rear of the building was a small gift shop with a display on the women who worked on the "entertainment" side together with their photos and a bit about their lives. It was terrible to see that most of these women joined the old profession when they were widowed in order to support their families.
The theatre is open from 8am - 6pm and costs about $3.50 admission.

I was a bit disappointed in Tombstone due to the fact that it had seemed to sell out. The main street was nothing but tourist shops with the odd bar in-between. I knew it had a tourist industry but I didn't expect it to be as intrusive as this. There are only so many gift shops, T-shirt shops and Western wear shops you can look at! The prices also tended to be on the high side so I wouldn't buy any Western wear in Tombstone, there are Western outfitters in most towns in Arizona that are a lot cheaper!
I have to admit that I did succumb to one bit of tacky tourism though. My partner and I got our photograph taken in full "Wild West" costumes. I was the cheap saloon girl and he was the mean and moody gunslinger. The photo was fantastic in sepia tones and now has pride of place in my house! It was taken at Diamond Jims and cost $25. Not exactly cheap but I had had my heart set on getting it done and it looks fantastic!

As you are leaving Tombstone don't forget to pop into the famous Boothill graveyard. It is free but you have to enter through a gift shop! This is the final resting place of many of the gunslingers and outlaws. The gravestones make interesting reading.

So what was my overall impression of Tombstone? A bit tacky, like a theme park. If you look for the original parts they are there but you just have to fight your way past all those T-shirt and souvenir shops first!

Summary: