This is not the official page, please find that at: https://www.facebook.com/bctheatre. Any questions or comments please call the Bird Cage at: 1-800-457-3423
or email at: [email protected] or see their website here: https://www.tombstonebirdcage.com
Open 365 days a year. Do not miss this while in Tombstone! The famous Bird Cage Theatre opened its doors on December 25, 1881 and for the
next eight years would never close, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Also called the Bird Cage Opera House Saloon, the establishment featured a saloon, gambling parlour, theatre, and a brothel. In no time, the "theatre” gained a reputation as one of the wildest places in Tombstone, so bad that the few self-respecting women in town refused to even walk near the place. The New York Times reported in 1882, that "the Bird Cage Theatre is the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast." During the years that the theatre was open the wicked little place witnessed a number of gun and knife fights that took some 26 lives, and left 140 bullet holes in the ceilings, walls, and floors, many of which can still be seen today. The theatre was called the "Bird Cage” because of its 14 crib style compartments suspended from the ceiling. Here, the painted ladies would pull the drapes and "entertain” their customers at some of the most exorbitant prices ever heard of in the Old West. For one of these unfortunate souls, prostitution would not be her worst fate; instead she would succumb to one of the hazards of the business – murder. When "Margarita” was sitting on the lap of a gambler named Billy Milgreen, in flounced one of her co-workers, who went by the name of "Gold Dollar.” Seeing Margarita on the lap of her best customer and "boyfriend,” Gold Dollar stuck a double edge knife into her chest, intending to cut her heart out. Having almost completed the task, she was interrupted by the sounds of the marshal coming and ran out the back door. Covered in blood, she hid the knife somewhere out back. Because the murder weapon couldn’t be found, no murder charges were filed. Amazingly, more than a century later, the stiletto was found behind the Bird Cage Theatre and is now displayed at the museum. Within these walls once drank and played the likes of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and members of the Cowboy faction, and Doc Holliday, who dealt faro in the gambling parlor. The hand painted stage, which once featured the likes of Eddy Foy, Lotta Crabtree, Lillie Langtry, Lola Montez, and Lillian Russell still stands, along with the orchestra pit and its massive Grand Piano. The gambling parlour continues to feature the actual table where Doc Holliday once dealt faro, and lining the walls are photographs of the many who passed through its doors, as well as original paintings that hung in the establishment. The original bar still stands and on display is Tombstone’s famous horse-drawn hearse called the Black Moriah. The first "vehicle” to ever have curved glass, it is trimmed out with gold and reportedly worth nearly two million dollars. Ruffled-up beds and scattered clothes are authentic, as well as the original faded carpets, drapes, and furniture. The Bird Cage Theatre is Tombstone's most authentic attraction, one of the Old West's most famous landmarks, and a definite "must stop” while in Tombstone. It also allegedly one of the most haunted places in Tombstone. From: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/picturepages/pp-tombstone5-birdcage.html
