A Look Around Tombstone Arizona

Tombstone Arizona “The town too tough to die” is a town in southeastern Arizona, known for its Wild West history. On historic Allen Street, the O.K. Corral outdoor theater re-enacts a 1881 gunfight. Resident ghosts are said to haunt the bullet-riddled Bird Cage Theatre. Outlaws are among the local townsfolk buried at the 1878 Boothill Cemetery.

Let’s take a quick look around Tombstone, it is an interesting place for a visit.

We are looking east from a point on Allen Street, the main street in Tombstone. It is blocked to vehicular traffic other than the stage coaches that take you for a narrated ride around the town to see and hear about the history of Tombstone.

The OK Corral gained notoriety for the 1881 gunfight between the Earp Brothers and the Clanton-McLaury gang. For all it’s fame, the gunfight really only lasted about 30 seconds. Today you can see reenactments of that gunfight in the corral.

Walking along Allen Street you will see a substantial number of people dressed in period costumes. Many are barkers for local business telling to visit “Puny John’s Barbecue” or the next Gunfight at the OK Corral or the Mine tour. Others are awaiting the next gunfight or the next stagecoach.

There are a number of stagecoaches that ride along Allen Street and the side streets with the driver providing a running narrative of the history and a description of the buildings that you pass by.

For the most part, the sidewalks along Allen Street are wooden boards as seen here.

There are also a wide variety of shops and business where you can buy food to eat, Tombstone t-shirts to wear and a myriad of period items from the old west.

Many of the stores use the old west names to market their establishment. Here is the window front for Ike Clanton’s Haunted Hotel. Ike Clanton was a member of a loose association of outlaws known as The Cowboys who clashed with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp as well as Doc Holliday.

As you walk along Allen street taking in the sights and sounds you will see a wide variety of signs. This admonishes the politicians to get their act together.

As mentioned earlier, many people are dressed in period costumes. We think this is two of the Earp Brothers and Doc Holiday. They are resting in between gunfights at the O.K. Corral.

Several signs such as this collection, can be found on different corners pointing to the businesses that are down the side streets and not on the main road, Allen Street.

This store is Lilly’s Tombstone Memories. You can acquire just about anything you can think of that is Tombstone or old west related in one or more of the stores along the streets.

There are numerous billboards positioned along the board sidewalks that provide you little tidbits of what might be found in the adjacent establishment. Here is an advertisement for Doc Holiday’s favorite desert.

A person in period costume passing in front of Wyatt Earps Oriental Saloon. He looks realistic with his long coat flowing as he passes in front ot the decorative window.

This sign provides a small tidbit into the history of Tombstone. It apparently was quite a violent place in it's heyday.

This sign hangs over the entrance to Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. Evidently she was Doc Holiday’s Girlfriend and quite a prominent figure in the town’s early days. This saloon claims to be the best cowboy bar in the west, that it has great food, and that you can dress up in period costumes and have your picture taken behind the bar. We did not go in and try the various options, perhaps we will on a later visit.

This is another one of the signs identifying the O.K. Corral. The corral is behind closed walls and you need to pay to see the gunfights and other goings on.

This period character is twirling his gun. Sure hope it is not loaded.

Here is the original Bird Cage Theater. This information is from their web site:

FOR EIGHT YEARS, FROM 1881 TO 1889, THE BIRD CAGE THEATER OPERATED CONTINUOUSLY, 24 HOURS A DAY, 365 DAYS A YEAR. LEGEND HAS IT THAT 26 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THE BIRD CAGE THEATER DURING ITS REPUTED YEARS AS ONE OF THE WILDEST AND MEANEST PLACES IN TOMBSTONE AZ. OVER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY BULLET HOLES REMAIN IN THE BUILDING.VISITORS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE BIRD CAGE THEATER IN TOMBSTONE AZ, HAVE REPORTED SEEING THE SPIRITS OF FORMER PROSTITUTES AND MEN IN COWBOY HATS. SOME CLAIM TO BE TOUCHED AND PUSHED BY UNSEEN FORCES. AT NIGHT, THE SOUNDS OF LAUGHTER, YELLING AND MUSIC HAVE BEEN HEARD, AS THOUGH THE PARTIES OF "THE OLD WEST" WERE STILL RAGING.

Another look down Allen Street to give you a feel for the place. This time from towards the east end looking west. The winter months are the busiest time of year. There lots of snowbirds that come to see the town and the summer months are really hot for walking along the streets.

Down one of the side street is an old mine, a tour of the facility is available. Tombstone was a rich Silver Producing area, more than any other region in Arizona.

There are a lot of open pit copper mines in Arizona found in many locations as you travel around the state, this area however was silver and the mines were tunneled into the ground as opposed to open pits.

Another example of an old stage coach that carries folks around Tombstone and provides narrated tours.

Much of Tombstone is geared towards tourists and selling items and providing entertainment. The O.K. Cafe seen here is on the west end of Allen Street and has very good food for a reasonable price. There are numerous other eateries in Tombstone, this one just happens to be our favorite. On your next trip to Tombstone be sure and eat here, great place and the apple pie a la mode is wonderful.

We hope you enjoyed this brief tour around Tombstone. We did not include several things to see and do there such as the old court house and boot hill cemetery. We just wanted to give you a quick overview for your next trip through this area.

When near here, be sure and stop by for a look around, it is a fun place and a small view into the life of the old west.

Please let us know if you have any questions or comments. All the best – George & Deanna