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Former silver boomtown is a Mecca for fans of the frontier West. Here's our take, and reports on five Tombstone tourist attractions.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
Squabble Over Tombstone Authenticity
Battle lines are being drawn in Tombstone, Arizona. On the one hand are the people who want an authentic 19th century Wild West town. On the other are the people who want a Wild West-themed shopping mall, or a Disneyland with spurs.
Until now the forces of squishyness have been winning in Tombstone. Shop owners in the historic district have painted their buildings chartreuse, mauve, and purple, with faux exposed brick or Spanish tiles. Storefronts advertise themselves as from the 1870s or 1880s, when they aren't.
Tombstone's historic district was given National Historic Landmark status in 1962. But the Department of the Interior has now put Tombstone on its threatened list -- its highest warning level. The implication is that Tombstone could have its Landmark status revoked if the town doesn't stop violating historic preservation building codes.
Does anyone care about Landmark status, other than pointy-headed scholars? It must provide financial benefits, as the town is now scrambling to appease the preservationists, asking for their opinions and hosting authenticity workshops. And if it incidentally leads to more gunfights and simulated hangings and bloody wax museums, and less aromatherapy and outlet stores and dreamcatcher boutiques, it will have been a good thing.
[08/13/2005]- Address:
- E. Allen St., Tombstone, AZ
- Directions:
- I-10 exits 303, 304, or 306, then south on Hwy 80 for 23 miles. Most of Tombstone's attractions line a three-block stretch of E. Allen St. between S. 3rd and S. 6th Sts.
- Admission:
- Free
- RA Rates:
- Major Fun
- Tombstone, Arizona - Historama
Tombstone history, narrated by Vincent Price! Multimedia done the good old fashioned way -- with cams, gears, and clunky effects.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Address:
- 308 E. Allen St., Tombstone, AZ
- Directions:
- I-10 exits 303, 304, or 306, then south on Hwy 80 for 23 miles. One block to the right, on Allen St., between Third and Fourth, north side.
- Hours:
- Daily, every half-hour from 10 to 4:30 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 520-457-3456
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Local history museum documents the "Borax Capital of the World," its industry, townspeople, artifacts of the high desert. And robotic team of mules.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
- Address:
- 26962 Twenty Mule Team Rd, Boron, CA
- Directions:
- South side of Hwy 58, just west of Boron Ave.
- Phone:
- 760-762-0012
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
- Carpinteria, California - World's Largest Torrey Pine
The Wardholme Torrey Pine is considered the largest Torrey Pine in the world, noted on an adjacent historical marker. The tree was brought from Santa Rosa island when still a seedling and planted in Carpinteria in 1888 by Judge Thomas Ward near his home. Local legend indicates that in the 1880's there was a polite but heated competition between the city residents to see who could grow the most unique plants, and when Judge Ward received this tree as a gift from his friend Townshend Stith Brandegee, he proudly planted it directly in front of his home.
The tree now measures approximately 126 feet tall, 20' 5" circumference, 130' branch spread. When Florence Ward inherited the property she dutifully continued caring for the tree and saw that it received professional maintenance; it was Florence who first proposed the tree should become an official landmark and be protected. In 1968 the tree was recognized as the city's "1st Official Landmark."
There was a celebration in 1988 for the tree's 100-year anniversary. In 2005 there was a movement to save it from potential development of the lot by commercial and residential developers.
[Gina Taylor, 02/13/2011]World's Largest Torrey Pine:- Address:
- Carpinteria Ave, Carpinteria, CA
- Directions:
- NE side of Carpinteria Ave near Walnut Ave.
- Admission:
- Free
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