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Spagenbergers in Tombstone


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Does anyone know if there is any business taking over the location?  I have friend who keeps telling me we need to re-open it as a gun store, and while I chuckle when he mentions it, I am interested in a little due diligence towards the possibility. Anyone know who I would contact if the building is still vacant?  Thanks. 

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Where is/was the store located in Tombstone?  The name, Spagenbergers, doesn't ring a bell.  I did a Google check for Spagenbergers in Tombstone and came up empty.

 

BS

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A couple of references to the shop on GOOGLE

Tombstone's situation is grave

Andrew Pollack, New York Times News ServiceCHICAGO TRIBUNE
 

George Spangenberg sold weapons to both Wyatt Earp and the gang he faced at the OK 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 and has no connection to the gunsmith whose name it borrowed.

 
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"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.

The National Park Service, which administers the landmark program, last year listed Tombstone's landmark 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.

Starting Sept. 1, Tombstone will hold a three-day public meeting, with federal and state officials in attendance, to discuss whether and how to preserve its historic authenticity.

Anthony Veerkamp, a senior program manager for the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation, said some other famous places, like Cannery Row in Monterey, Calif., have faced similar dilemmas. "There's often tension between protecting the historic resource and exploiting the historic resource, if you will," Veerkamp said.

 

In Tombstone, some people say that if the town is too authentic, visitors will be bored.

"They don't particularly want dusty, dried-up history," said Donna Winn, manager of a tourist attraction called Ghosts and Legends.

Tombstone was founded by Ed Schieffelin, a prospector who was warned that if he went into the heart of Apache territory, he would find nothing but his own tombstone. He discovered silver here in 1877, and Tombstone became a boomtown.

The silver boom faded after a decade, and the town shrank. But it has survived for more than a century largely because of its 30 seconds of fame, which is all it took for Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp, aided by Doc Holliday, to gun down Billy Clanton and Tom and Frank McLaury on Oct. 26, 1881.

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Spangenberg's Gunsmithing shop was located at 21 South 4th Street, Tombstone.  The shop was connected to the store that fronts on Allen street.  So, you could say it was at the corner of Allen and 4th Street (more or less).  It was a wonderful store to visit twenty years ago.  Lots of Colt's and Winchesters both old and new.  You could get a nice set of cowboy action guns there and many of us did.  Then, as time went along, the stock became more and more aimed (forgive me) to tourists.  It went from Colt's, to clones, to pop guns, to rubber band shooters over about ten years.  It was very, very sad to witness this transformation.

 

The storefront is still there.  The front part of the building is now "Can-Can Old Time Photos"; fronting at 336 E. Allen St.   The phone number for that business is 520-457-3227.  They may only be open on weekends. 

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Thank you all, sorry for misspelling the last name, yes that is the place. Interesting that trying to market to the tourists was its downfall. Appreciate the info. 

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3 hours ago, August West, SASS #45079 said:

Spangenberg's Gunsmithing shop was located at 21 South 4th Street, Tombstone.  The shop was connected to the store that fronts on Allen street.  So, you could say it was at the corner of Allen and 4th Street (more or less).  It was a wonderful store to visit twenty years ago.  Lots of Colt's and Winchesters both old and new.  You could get a nice set of cowboy action guns there and many of us did.  Then, as time went along, the stock became more and more aimed (forgive me) to tourists.  It went from Colt's, to clones, to pop guns, to rubber band shooters over about ten years.  It was very, very sad to witness this transformation.

 

The storefront is still there.  The front part of the building is now "Can-Can Old Time Photos"; fronting at 336 E. Allen St.   The phone number for that business is 520-457-3227.  They may only be open on weekends. 

 

I’m sure that the high retail space rents in Tombstone have a lot to do with which businesses survive. When I first visited them years ago, I thought that their gun prices were quite expensive. 

BTW, the original Spangenberg’s in 1881 was located across the street (East side of 4th) from where the modern store stood. 

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13 hours ago, Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 said:

Thank you all, sorry for misspelling the last name, yes that is the place. Interesting that trying to market to the tourists was its downfall. Appreciate the info. 

 

Its downfall probably started well before they marketed to tourists. The pop-guns and rubber band pistols were probably the last gasp after a slow decline. Cowboys are a sentimental lot but there ain’t a whole lot of us left.

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