Corbis Sygma
Posted on 08/08/2005 3:21:26 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Corbis Sygma
Few buildings in this 1881 photograph of Tombstone are still standing.
TOMBSTONE, Ariz., Aug. 3 - George Spangenberg sold weapons to both Wyatt Earp and the gang he faced at the O.K. Corral. Today visitors can see the G. F. Spangenberg gun shop - "Est. 1880," according to its sign - standing on Fourth Street.
Well, actually, the shop was established only 16 years ago to cater to tourists and has no connection to the gunsmith whose name it borrowed.
"We don't say it's the same shop," said Jim Newbauer, a manager of the store, which is across the street from where the original stood. Nor does the shop go out of its way to say it isn't.
Just how true to history this famous Old West town should remain is the subject of a modern-day shootout. "The town too tough to die," as Tombstone bills itself, is at risk of losing its designation as a national historic landmark because some say it has been a little too kitschy in embellishing its heritage.
"It's becoming like a Hollywood set instead of an authentic historic Western town," said Sally Alves, a bed-and-breakfast owner.
Dates from the 19th century are painted on buildings erected in the last few decades. Some stores have simulated brick or adobe facades. Some are painted in colors like purple or turquoise that probably were not used in 1880's frontier towns.
The National Park Service, which administers the landmark program, last year listed Tombstone's status as "threatened" because of building alterations "that didn't have any basis in history," said Greg Kendrick, regional manager of the program. Only about 90 of the nation's 2,400 historic landmarks are considered "threatened," mostly because of deterioration, not decoration. Since 1980, 25 have lost their designation.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Thanks ....we're headed that way in October. This piece makes one wonder if Tombstone should remain on our soutern Arizona places list.
Alas.....the same is true of Dodge City Kansas.
I guess I really, really like it!
I haven't been there, although I grew up in AZ---but I have relatives there. Interesting, though, that MANY new academic studies of the Old West have found it far less violent than thought, and if you exclude the cattle towns, there were fewer instances of rape and murder than in 20th century America, partly because everyone was armed and that made them "polite."
I think that the movie "Tombstone" re-vitalized the town's tourist trade, as well it should have. A lot of the "new restored" look of the place comes out of that film (which, by the way, was very accurate historically, as far as most movies go).
"The town too tough to die"
I've stayed in some nice hotels in Phoenix for business travel: The Biltmore, the Princess and a few others. Love the big cacti. And we went to a bar outside of town--The Something or other Frog. Loved the place.
Death Valley.
One thing remains the same, the landscape around the town. I remember walking the route taken by Earp looking at the hills and scenery he would have seen. That is also the last view those killed at the shootout would have seen looking out from the corral. That view has not been spoiled by tall buildings or billboards.
Thanks...I loved that show. And it was my first exposure to RR.
The O.K. Corral fight scene was highly accurate - but much of the rest of the movie was typical Hollywood hyperbole. Read Casey Tefertiller's excellent biography "Wyatt Earp - the Life of a Legend" for a somewhat different picture of how things went - chiefly, that the Cowboys had more backers in town than the Earps, who after the shootout were considered the villains and had to essentially flee for their lives. Also, the scene at the end of Tombstone where Doc kills Johnny Ringo is sheer Hollywood invention - no one knows how Ringo died.
I still like the movie - it just isn't too realistic. I guess Hollywood thinks the real story is boring, since they've never told it correctly. ;)
That piqued my interest. So I googled.
Could it be this? Crazy Ed's Satisfied Frog - with chili beer.
Our last stop at the end of the day was the cemetery where we saw the full moon of winter solstice rising. Nice touch.
I guess it's a bit of a tourist place, but we all had a great time. They have a big ol' country singer, a terrific waitstaff and good food. Thanks for the memories!
Those are some mean looking dudes! Keep 'em locked and loaded...
The events leading up to the gunfight, the shooting of Virgil and Morgan, and Wyatt's vengeful tracking down of the Cowboy killers are all historically correct. Yes, they made up the fight between Ringo and Doc Holliday, but I accept that as dramatic license and there is, after all, somewhat of a mystery as to who really did kill Johnny Ringo.
One interesting aspect of the Earp-Clanton struggle that no movie has ever covered is the political dimension. The Earps were midwestern, Union Republicans while the Clanton cowboys were ex-Confederate Democrats. That set-up bad blood from the beginning and in fact, made their feud a mirror-image of the general fault lines in early territorial politics.
Death Valley Days, sponsored by Boraxo.
Death Valley. Thanks...I loved that show. And it was my first exposure to RR.
On further thought it might have been Death Valley Days
Great point. And didn't that politics also play a role in the (Jesse) James gang?
Yeah, mule train was what I thought when I saw it. Bet there aren't a handful of pictures that capture that. Excellent.
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