The Famous “Bird Cages” Balcony Cribs
Perched above the main floor of the Bird Cage Theatre, the “bird cages” were twelve small, curtained balcony cribs where the theatre’s working women conducted business throughout the night. These suspended box-like rooms—each just large enough for a cot, a lamp, and a client—overlooked the saloon, gambling hall, and stage below, giving the theatre its distinctive name.
The cribs were open-fronted, framed in ornate woodwork, and draped with fabric that offered only the illusion of privacy. Miners, cowboys, and drifters could look up from the bar or the poker tables and see the silhouettes of the women inside, adding to the theatre’s reputation as one of the wildest and most notorious establishments in the Old West.
During its nonstop operation from 1881 to 1889, the Bird Cage Theatre became infamous for its mix of entertainment, vice, and danger. Gunfights were common, and the walls around the cribs still bear bullet holes—silent reminders of the rowdy clientele and the lawless energy that defined Tombstone’s boomtown years.
Today, the balcony cribs remain preserved exactly as they were left in the 1880s, offering visitors a rare, authentic glimpse into the gritty reality of frontier nightlife.