The Birdcage theatre "grand piano" was shipped there by my great uncle Orlando " Charlie" Thompson by his muletrain from St Bernardino Ca,,,,,, 1880-81,,,,,Edwin J Thompson
Was there in the 80s and 90s and its apparent from the film some folks put a lot of money into its restoration. It's a great walk into history past, well worth seeing.
La Messita is a real brothel in Nogales and it is very close to the management and operational criteria of the historic southwest. Surrounded by lawlessness and protected by the legendary integrity of the federales. If you want to feel the danger, try this, but be warned you are better off dead than arrested in Mexico.
What it must have been to live like that back then I wish we could go back in time just to see what it's like got to put this on my bucket list and hopefully record some spirit ghost 👻 thanks for showing this
I remember stopping in there when we were in AZ in 2008. Yep, it's "thick" in there for sure....a little spooky. A street full of tourists, but you step into that half-light..... We were out your way last month...4 nights in Gilbert, and 3 in Tucson, visiting friends (in the former) and family (in the latter--my brother and his wife live near Sabino Canyon, and a cousin and wife live near Tubac). Back east here in Richmond, we've got beaucoup "old and creepy" spots, and more than a few shades of the Civil War. Probably the spookiest is the now dis-used Monumental Church, originally erected top the ruins of the old Richmond Theater, which burned with huge loss of life in 1811. The bodies of the victims are in the crypt...which you can visit.
The caption next to the Wyatt Earp picture said Mattie died in Prescott,Wrong she died in Pinal City( Superior,Az) Her grave is near the Silver King Mine in the old Pinal City Cemetery.
Each paragraph is respectfully corrected below: First paragraph: The Bird Cage was named so because of its recognition as being a modest "small" placed of entertainment. "Bird Cage" was a name repeated in other businesses in other cities across the country including "Antione's Bird Cage" in Dallas, Texas which promised "none but respectable characters" at this "popular family resort" in their 1881 ad campaign....just to name one. Second paragraph: The Bignon's did not acquire the Bird Cage in 1882, rather they leased it from a pair of San Francisco owners in 1886, opening on January 16th. It was not open 24 hours a day 365 days a year for eight years. Aside from down time between the Hutchinson's ownership and the sale of to the successive owners from San Francisco, it was shut down on a few occasions while the Hutchinson's and Bignon's renovated. Joe Bignon also dabbled in other theatre ventures in Albuquerque, NM, Kingston, NM, and Phoenix, AZ, prompting shut downs on a few occasions. Also the Bird Cage was changed to the Elite for the entirety of the Bignon's tenure as proprietors, except for a brief period in at the end when they changed it to the "Olympic". Third paragraph: None of the mentioned performers were ever at the Bird Cage. Eddie Foy is the source of his claim published in his 1928 autobiography where he claims to have spent four weeks there before he went to San Francisco in 1881. Unfortunately for Eddie, the Bird Cage didn't open until December of 1881 and he can be tracked doing performances in Denver and San Francisco and then Butte, Montana continuously. As for the others, there is not enough space to include the details that clear up the myths of them. I can provide if asked. As far as "Fatima" is concerned, that is an entire hoax. The painting hanging in the Bird Cage is a work done by a gentleman named M. Viccari, a local Tombstone man who completed it in 1882. It is a copy of a painting done by a gentleman named Henry Humphrey Moore entitled "A Dream at the Alhambra". The scene of this painting is inside the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. The copy Viccari made was raffled off at the Crystal Palace on November 10, 1882. After changing hands it ended up in the collection of C.L. Cummings, a former mayor of Tombstone, who purchased the Bird Cage building in 1909 where he stored the hundreds of artifacts he had collected from Tombstone over the years. Much of the items in the Bird Cage today were his, including the painting Viccari did, which is what you see hanging there now. Belly dancing also was not introduced to the United States until the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. Fifth paragraph: In August of 1881 the town council approved a licensing code which charged businesses and individuals fees and required a license for all sorts of things including sale of liquor, houses of ill-fame, gambling, lodging, etc, etc. There is not and never was record of any licenses issued to the Bird Cage for gambling. Furthermore, many of the characters they claim to have played poker there have issues with them. Bat Masterson for example left Tombstone for good, arriving in Dodge City in mid April of 1881, 8 months prior to the Bird Cage opening. In fact Hutchinson didn't even purchase the lot on which he built the theatre until July of that year. Also the building was not sealed up in 1889 as Bignon (despite his in and out of town style of management) had the doors open in some capacity until 1894 under the name of the "Olympic". Sixth paragraph: The Bird Cage did in fact see the light of day before 1934. In 1929 Tombstone had embraced its potential as a tourist town, thanks to in part to author Alfred Henry Lewis' "Wolfville Tales" that depicted a romantic view of Tombstone through the eyes of the "Old Cattleman" giving his first hand accounts. That year the town spent over $10,000 bringing back the old feel of Tombstone in its prime for a celebration called "Helldorado" which still is held today every October. They cleared out all of Cummings' relics, lined up seating, and even had stage acts performing. 1934 marks the year the Bird Cage was leased out (not purchased) for use as a modern coffee shop. They renovated and secured the building making it safe and even had tables and service in the balconies. I hope this helps clear up the real history of this absolutely one of a kind building in the American West that you definitely cannot miss seeing for yourself! Any questions, message me.
We went often in the 70’s, as we lived in Cochise Cty. It was a lovely Southern AZ county then before the invasion, the cartels and drugs were so bad. Tombstone close to border, unfortunately. The whole area should have been preserved more and BETTER. The family who has Bird Cage has done a great job. Too many of these western towns are so touristed up that they ruin it. The history and ambiance and NICE NICE townspeople are why it remains the Town Too Tough to Die!!
Looks Like Someone Decided To Clean The 50 Year Old Dust And Cobwebs Out Of The Place. Trip Advisor Is Loaded With Remarks Of "Rip Off" And Just A "Dirty Old Junk Room."
Thanks. :) I guess I got lucky - it was on a Saturday, to boot. LOL! This was from Saturday, May 18, 2013 from about 1:35-1:55 p.m. and was my first visit, so I probably couldn't recommend a visiting time any different......
SwingMan1938 any specific time of year seems to be less crowded than others...I'm a huge historian and love visiting places that still carry over..I can almost feel the presence of the people who were here...it's really y got a feel and vibe to it...you caught everything very well...the place is definitely alive...the civil war is been my main focus but after being stationed out west years ago I've started to look into this area...thanks for getting back pard...hats off to ya
Thanks, Ace - next time I visit, I'll definitely have a better camera. ;) Yeah, the Bird Cage is *really* thick - the vibe is almost palpable. Of the places I experienced in Tombstone that day, that's the place that spoke to me the most - by far. I probably could've spent the whole day in there. Next visit, I *really* want to go on the "ghost tour" or whatever they call it these days to experience it without all the ambient noise the daytime brings.
Hi Joaquin..... the music is British Music Hall of the 1890s ( The music played at the Birdcage is way out of date.....Daisy ( bicycle made for two was written by Harry Dacra .. in 1892. some ten year after the gun fight...and the Birdcage was shut down when this and the other tunes were played in this video like most of the memorabilia portrayed in the today Birdcage .... accept for the grand piano that was delivered to the Birdcage in 1881 i know that to be true because my great uncle Orlando Thompson delivered it all the way from west coast Frisco...by mule-train.....Ed J Thompson
I visited Tombstone 3 times i love it i did notice some things have changed in the Bird cage the first time was in 1978, I did tell the lady working there that had changed it's ok also John Wayne met Wyatt Earp and Mr Wayne copied the way Earp would walk and talk
John Wayne didn't meet Wyatt Earp ,,,,, Wayne was a set shifter nothing more,,,,, to talk with advisers and producers was a sack able offence i worked at the Holywood studios a film producer is boss,,,, he listens to no one,,,, question if film guys took advice from Earp ,,, western movies were adventure fast moving no history attached ,,,,, Earp died 1929,,,,,,, so westerns were a hit n miss affair during the supposed Earp involvement,,,,,,,,,the end
I visited that place three times. It does feel spooky when inside. It may be from the dim light and all the cowboy stuff in there. I do not believe in ghosts and stuff of that nature but it was on the spooky side. I bet if they put regular lights in there the spookiness will disappear.
No offense, but but don't knock it if you have the ability - one of the reasons I would love to go there is I have "this thing I can do" trust me --i didn't ask for it!
A lot of the signs describing items in the theatre are totally false. For example, the sign on the piano claiming it has “sat on this spot” since it arrived is wrong. There’s a picture of the theatre when it was reopened in the 30’s and piano is gone. Also, there’s zero evidence to support the theory that a prostitute named gold dollar stabbed another prostitute (margarita) out of a jealous rage, despite the owners having the supposed stilletto she used on display.
Piano was delivered to the birdcage by my greatuncle in 1881 ive documents proving the fact,,,,, he delivered it b mule-train,,,,along with mining equipment Edwin J
The Birdcage theatre "grand piano" was shipped there by my great uncle Orlando " Charlie" Thompson by his muletrain
from St Bernardino Ca,,,,,, 1880-81,,,,,Edwin J Thompson
Cool!
Was there in the 80s and 90s and its apparent from the film some folks put a lot of money into its restoration. It's a great walk into history past, well worth seeing.
Was there last weekend, I didn't feel it to be "spooky" but did enjoy all the old artifacts and we took our time looking at stuff
Great video..TY...they have cleaned it up since I was there ....I love the place
The bird cage is awsome to visit
Excelent restauration the old west
awesome video!
La Messita is a real brothel in Nogales and it is very close to the management and operational criteria of the historic southwest. Surrounded by lawlessness and protected by the legendary integrity of the federales. If you want to feel the danger, try this, but be warned you are better off dead than arrested in Mexico.
What it must have been to live like that back then I wish we could go back in time just to see what it's like got to put this on my bucket list and hopefully record some spirit ghost 👻 thanks for showing this
Will they actually let you bring a camera in there? I didn’t think they would allow that?
At 16:31-16:33 a man softly says "Shambl'n gambler!'' softly
I remember stopping in there when we were in AZ in 2008. Yep, it's "thick" in there for sure....a little spooky. A street full of tourists, but you step into that half-light..... We were out your way last month...4 nights in Gilbert, and 3 in Tucson, visiting friends (in the former) and family (in the latter--my brother and his wife live near Sabino Canyon, and a cousin and wife live near Tubac). Back east here in Richmond, we've got beaucoup "old and creepy" spots, and more than a few shades of the Civil War. Probably the spookiest is the now dis-used Monumental Church, originally erected top the ruins of the old Richmond Theater, which burned with huge loss of life in 1811. The bodies of the victims are in the crypt...which you can visit.
instablaster...
The caption next to the Wyatt Earp picture said Mattie died in Prescott,Wrong she died in Pinal City( Superior,Az) Her grave is near the Silver King Mine in the old Pinal City Cemetery.
Great Video!! Grácias!!
Each paragraph is respectfully corrected below:
First paragraph:
The Bird Cage was named so because of its recognition as being a modest "small" placed of entertainment. "Bird Cage" was a name repeated in other businesses in other cities across the country including "Antione's Bird Cage" in Dallas, Texas which promised "none but respectable characters" at this "popular family resort" in their 1881 ad campaign....just to name one.
Second paragraph:
The Bignon's did not acquire the Bird Cage in 1882, rather they leased it from a pair of San Francisco owners in 1886, opening on January 16th. It was not open 24 hours a day 365 days a year for eight years. Aside from down time between the Hutchinson's ownership and the sale of to the successive owners from San Francisco, it was shut down on a few occasions while the Hutchinson's and Bignon's renovated. Joe Bignon also dabbled in other theatre ventures in Albuquerque, NM, Kingston, NM, and Phoenix, AZ, prompting shut downs on a few occasions. Also the Bird Cage was changed to the Elite for the entirety of the Bignon's tenure as proprietors, except for a brief period in at the end when they changed it to the "Olympic".
Third paragraph:
None of the mentioned performers were ever at the Bird Cage. Eddie Foy is the source of his claim published in his 1928 autobiography where he claims to have spent four weeks there before he went to San Francisco in 1881. Unfortunately for Eddie, the Bird Cage didn't open until December of 1881 and he can be tracked doing performances in Denver and San Francisco and then Butte, Montana continuously. As for the others, there is not enough space to include the details that clear up the myths of them. I can provide if asked. As far as "Fatima" is concerned, that is an entire hoax. The painting hanging in the Bird Cage is a work done by a gentleman named M. Viccari, a local Tombstone man who completed it in 1882. It is a copy of a painting done by a gentleman named Henry Humphrey Moore entitled "A Dream at the Alhambra". The scene of this painting is inside the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. The copy Viccari made was raffled off at the Crystal Palace on November 10, 1882. After changing hands it ended up in the collection of C.L. Cummings, a former mayor of Tombstone, who purchased the Bird Cage building in 1909 where he stored the hundreds of artifacts he had collected from Tombstone over the years. Much of the items in the Bird Cage today were his, including the painting Viccari did, which is what you see hanging there now. Belly dancing also was not introduced to the United States until the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893.
Fifth paragraph:
In August of 1881 the town council approved a licensing code which charged businesses and individuals fees and required a license for all sorts of things including sale of liquor, houses of ill-fame, gambling, lodging, etc, etc. There is not and never was record of any licenses issued to the Bird Cage for gambling. Furthermore, many of the characters they claim to have played poker there have issues with them. Bat Masterson for example left Tombstone for good, arriving in Dodge City in mid April of 1881, 8 months prior to the Bird Cage opening. In fact Hutchinson didn't even purchase the lot on which he built the theatre until July of that year. Also the building was not sealed up in 1889 as Bignon (despite his in and out of town style of management) had the doors open in some capacity until 1894 under the name of the "Olympic".
Sixth paragraph:
The Bird Cage did in fact see the light of day before 1934. In 1929 Tombstone had embraced its potential as a tourist town, thanks to in part to author Alfred Henry Lewis' "Wolfville Tales" that depicted a romantic view of Tombstone through the eyes of the "Old Cattleman" giving his first hand accounts. That year the town spent over $10,000 bringing back the old feel of Tombstone in its prime for a celebration called "Helldorado" which still is held today every October. They cleared out all of Cummings' relics, lined up seating, and even had stage acts performing. 1934 marks the year the Bird Cage was leased out (not purchased) for use as a modern coffee shop. They renovated and secured the building making it safe and even had tables and service in the balconies.
I hope this helps clear up the real history of this absolutely one of a kind building in the American West that you definitely cannot miss seeing for yourself! Any questions, message me.
My daughters best friends last name is/was Earp, she said she was related to the Earp family.
We went often in the 70’s, as we lived in Cochise Cty. It was a lovely Southern AZ county then before the invasion, the cartels and drugs were so bad. Tombstone close to border, unfortunately. The whole area should have been preserved more and BETTER. The family who has Bird Cage has done a great job. Too many of these western towns are so touristed up that they ruin it. The history and ambiance and NICE NICE townspeople are why it remains the Town Too Tough to Die!!
You can almost feel the ghosts watching..
Was there in 2000 felt exactly the same way caught some orbs on camera too they are watching you
Looks Like Someone Decided To Clean The 50 Year Old Dust And Cobwebs Out Of The Place. Trip Advisor Is Loaded With Remarks Of "Rip Off" And Just A "Dirty Old Junk Room."
great video enjoyed it...this is a place I want to go..I'd like to experience it the way you did without a crowd is that possible? thanks
Thanks. :)
I guess I got lucky - it was on a Saturday, to boot. LOL!
This was from Saturday, May 18, 2013 from about 1:35-1:55 p.m. and was my first visit, so I probably couldn't recommend a visiting time any different......
SwingMan1938 any specific time of year seems to be less crowded than others...I'm a huge historian and love visiting places that still carry over..I can almost feel the presence of the people who were here...it's really y got a feel and vibe to it...you caught everything very well...the place is definitely alive...the civil war is been my main focus but after being stationed out west years ago I've started to look into this area...thanks for getting back pard...hats off to ya
Thanks, Ace - next time I visit, I'll definitely have a better camera. ;)
Yeah, the Bird Cage is *really* thick - the vibe is almost palpable. Of the places I experienced in Tombstone that day, that's the place that spoke to me the most - by far. I probably could've spent the whole day in there.
Next visit, I *really* want to go on the "ghost tour" or whatever they call it these days to experience it without all the ambient noise the daytime brings.
Is sad but people move on for centuries. Talk to me , who are they on pictures ??
what is the name of the songs in the background and who sing them?
I honestly have no idea - I haven't heard any of them before or since (video shot May 18, 2013).
@@SwingMan1938 very good video, I will look for the name of those songs, thanks for the attention.
Hi Joaquin..... the music is British Music Hall of the 1890s ( The music played at the Birdcage is way out of date.....Daisy ( bicycle made for two was written by Harry Dacra .. in 1892. some ten year after the gun fight...and the Birdcage was shut down when this and the other tunes were played in this video like most of the memorabilia portrayed in the today Birdcage .... accept for the grand piano that was delivered to the Birdcage in 1881 i know that to be true because my great uncle Orlando Thompson delivered it all the way from west coast Frisco...by mule-train.....Ed J Thompson
I visited Tombstone 3 times i love it i did notice some things have changed in the Bird cage the first time was in 1978, I did tell the lady working there that had changed it's ok also John Wayne met Wyatt Earp and Mr Wayne copied the way Earp would walk and talk
John Wayne didn't meet Wyatt Earp ,,,,, Wayne was a set shifter nothing more,,,,, to talk with advisers and producers was a sack able offence i worked at the Holywood studios a film producer is boss,,,, he listens to no one,,,, question if film guys took advice from Earp ,,, western movies were adventure fast moving no history attached ,,,,, Earp died 1929,,,,,,, so westerns were a hit n miss affair during the supposed Earp involvement,,,,,,,,,the end
I visited that place three times. It does feel spooky when inside. It may be from the dim light and all the cowboy stuff in there. I do not believe in ghosts and stuff of that nature but it was on the spooky side. I bet if they put regular lights in there the spookiness will disappear.
...until it reappears lol
No offense, but but don't knock it if you have the ability - one of the reasons I would love to go there is I have "this thing I can do" trust me --i didn't ask for it!
A lot of the signs describing items in the theatre are totally false. For example, the sign on the piano claiming it has “sat on this spot” since it arrived is wrong. There’s a picture of the theatre when it was reopened in the 30’s and piano is gone. Also, there’s zero evidence to support the theory that a prostitute named gold dollar stabbed another prostitute (margarita) out of a jealous rage, despite the owners having the supposed stilletto she used on display.
tupacamaru2 who?
Piano was delivered to the birdcage by my greatuncle
in 1881 ive documents proving the fact,,,,, he delivered it b mule-train,,,,along with mining equipment
Edwin J
"their"
lol
You shouldn't be allowed to mark your name up on the wall I think you're destroying history no you're not paying respect that's disrespectful