AZ Trip # 11 - The Bird Cage Theatre Part 1: Meeting Amy and Billy!

L to R: Dan, Rob, Billy, Amy

The Bird Cage Theatre was a theater in Tombstone, Arizona.
 Back in 1993, when I first visited I befriended Billy and Amy. Billy manages the theatre turned museum. 

Amy and Billy in front of the stage

   Back in '93, I visited the town dressed up as Wyatt Earp (because I am somewhat of an amateur historian on Wyatt) and Billy, Amy and their daughter Becky took a old time photo with me in 1880s garb. (Becky is now married in living in the upper Midwest!). That was one of my favorite photos, ever and I was so honored to find that photo was still hanging up in Billy's office in the theatre!

Dan and Rob

THIS YEAR -  Dan and I were fortunate enough to enjoy time with Amy (and we had great coffee and an amazing coffee roll), and later joined by Billy. We all went back to the Bird Cage after coffee and I encountered another ghost. But in today's blog you'll learn about the theatre. We'll get to the ghosts in a later blog. 


WHEN WAS IT OPEN? It operated intermittently from December 1881 to 1894. When the silver mines closed, the theatre was also closed in 1892. It was leased as a coffee shop starting in 1934 and later made into a museum as it stands today. 


ABOUT THE BIRD CAGE:

The Bird Cage Theatre

The Bird Cage Theatre opened on December 26, 1881. It was owned by Lottie and William "Billy" Hutchinson. Hutchison, a variety performer, originally intended to present respectable family shows like he'd seen in San Francisco that were thronged by large crowds. After the Theatre opened, they hosted a Ladies Night for the respectable women of Tombstone, who could attend for free. But the economics of Tombstone didn't support their aspirations. They soon canceled the Ladies Night and began offering baser entertainment that appealed to the rough mining crowd. When the price of silver slid to 90 cents an ounce in 1886, the remaining mines laid off workers. Many residents of Tombstone left. The Bird Cage Theatre closed in 1892.
RE-OPENED -   In 1934, the Bird Cage Theatre’s new owners opened the place back up for show. They found everything in the building the exact way it was left, even the poker table. Today the Bird Cage stands as a tourist attraction and a visual look into its colorful past.  

Wyatt Earp frequented the Bird Cage with his brothers

FAMOUS PEOPLE - Many famous and notorious legends frequented the Bird Cage. Performers such as Lillian Russell, Lotta Crabtree, and Eddie Foy Sr. have performed on the stage along with Fatima, the belly dancer. Others like the Clantons, Earps, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday and even Pete Spence, laid down many silver coins for a shot of whiskey.

Rob, Amy and Billy

HAUNTED - The theater is reported to be haunted,and it is! On this visit, I encountered as many as 10 ghosts, so I can assure you it is haunted. It was featured in the paranormal investigation shows Ghost Hunters in 2006, Ghost Adventures in 2009 and 2015, Ghost Lab in 2009, and Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files in 2011.

NEXT: Fatima, the Ghostly Face, Rob's Book Cover