Echoes of the Southwest

On September 9, 1880, the Grand Hotel opened on Allen Street in Tombstone, Arizona, to an invitation only ball. It was the most supreme hotel in the state with lavish furnishings and extravagant paintings hanging on its walls. The floor was enhanced with thick carpet in each of the 16 rooms. Each room was adorned with walnut furniture and fancy fixtures. In the lobby there hung three stylish chandeliers which were located above more lush furnishings. The kitchen had hot and cold running water and was equipped to feed at least 500 people in just a couple of hours. The hotel was located on the main/street level and downstairs in the basement is where the bar area can be found. The basement also had tunnels leading to the main shafts which were used by miners. During breaks or when their shift was over, they would enter through the shaft that leads into the basement bar area. They would have a drink or two, and then would either head home or back to the mines. Many famous lawmen a...

Kickin' it up cowboy! Wild West Women

You never know what you might see unless you look up and shoot.  Here are some of my favorite up-shots: Noftsger Hill Inn, Globe AZ Saguaro Ranch Park, Glendale AZ Bee Apartment, Miami AZ train, Miami AZ Crazy Mountain Ranch, Montana Crazy Mountain Ranch, Montana Crazy Mountain Ranch, Montana abandoned building, Morristown AZ abandoned building, Morristown AZ Assay's Office, Vulture Mine AZ mess hall, Vulture Mine AZ Mystery Castle, South Mountain AZ Mystery Castle, South Mountain AZ abandoned building, Fairbank AZ Courthouse, Tombstone AZ Tombstone AZ

Schieffelin Hall was built in 1881 by William Hardwood and Albert Schieffelin, brother to Tombstone’s founder, Ed Schieffelin. This elaborate theater was the largest adobe building in the southwest and seated 450 on the parquet with another 125 seats in the gallery. On June 8, 1881, the doors were finally opened offering the citizens of Tombstone a first class opera house, theater, recital hall and meeting place with lots of culture thrown in. The Tombstone Epitaph Newspaper said, “From the top to bottom it is by far the most complete edifice of the kind in the Territory. The drop curtain is a Colorado scene and is a work of art”. On March 14, 1881, upstairs in the Masonic Hall, the King Solomon Masonic Lodge #5 was organized. The first Master of the lodge was Justice of the Peace, Wells Spicer. He goes down in history as the one who exonerated the Earps and Doc Holliday of killing Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The building is used ...

This creepy looking mummified creature is in a glass box, near the entrance of the Bird Cage Theatre’s display room. Many wonder how a mermaid would be found in the desert, so far from a body of water. The best explanation is that sometime in 1934 someone donated it to the Bird Cage Theatre’s tiny little museum. Whatever it is and however it got there, it is still a weird little artifact.  Don't you just love the look on the face of the blowfish above?  He looks like he is either in agony or singing.

(From Wikipedia) “Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, located in Tombstone, Arizona, United States, preserves the original Cochise County courthouse. The two-story building, constructed in 1882 in the Victorian style, is laid out in the shape of a cross and once contained various county offices, including those of the sheriff, recorder, treasurer, and the Board of Supervisors as well as courtrooms and a jail. Inside, the courthouse contains a museum with numerous artifacts from the town’s history while outside, a replica gallows has been constructed in the courtyard to mark the spot where seven men were hanged for various crimes. The park was one of the first to be designated as a state park and in 1959 was the first to open following the 1957 establishment of the Arizona State Parks Board.” History In 1877, Ed Schieffelin discovered silver minerals in southeastern Arizona and shortly afterwards he founded Tombstone.   This mining town grew quickly from all the p...

Inside one of the buildings on Tombstone’s dusty main street is where the Ghost and Legends Tour can be found.   This self-guided tour is located where the Wells Fargo Company once stood, also a saloon, barber and cigar shops.   Now it is a walk through attraction where Tombstone’s history comes alive. Using Hollywood special effects and computerized animation, you are guided by the famous gunslinger, Doc Holliday, through Tombstone’s history.   He takes you back to 1880’s when the town was booming and all hell broke loose. In the first room is an old stagecoach used as part of the famous stage line.   This stagecoach was also used in almost 50 movie even including ones with John Wayne.   Doc explains how dangerous traveling in a stagecoach really was.   Many of the stagecoaches were robbed with some of its passengers murdered by unforgiving outlaws. The next room is the recreation of Morgan Earp’s murder in the Campbell and Hatch Sa...