Latest news with #OldWest
Wall Street Journal
23-05-2025
- Wall Street Journal
Summer Books: The Best Reading for the Season
Fortune-seekers and former soldiers arrived in the small towns of the Old West, carrying pistols and a taste for violence. Review by Richard Snow Read the review
Indianapolis Star
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Easy Rider Diner in Fountain Square to close, pivot to bar service
After two and a half years in Fountain Square's Murphy Arts Center, Easy Rider Diner will fry up its last breakfast May 24 and then pivot to bar service only. The American Southwest-inspired diner, which the owners of the HI-FI Indy music venue next-door opened in October 2022 as a greasy spoon-style hangout, announced the closure May 16 on Facebook. The closure coincides with the construction of a new 1,200-square-foot indoor music venue, set to open in early 2026, to permanently house the temporary outdoor HI-FI Annex inside the Murphy Arts Center at 1043 Virginia Ave. Open from breakfast time until as late as midnight on weekends, Easy Rider has offered a blend of classic brunch fare, Southwest flavors and Americana comfort food. Pop art and Old West imagery lining the restaurant's pale pink walls lent Easy Rider an atmosphere like few others in Indy. Per Easy Rider's Facebook post, the HI-FI Annex's concession stand known as the Snack Shack will remain open, as will the Easy Rider bar as "part of the expanded HI-FI experience." "As we prepare for construction on our new venue in the Murphy Arts Center, we're shifting operations and have made the difficult—but necessary—decision to close the restaurant," the closing announcement read. "We're proud of what we built — from unforgettable meals to meaningful moments with our community," the post read. "Thank you to everyone who pulled up a chair and made it special."
CBS News
14-05-2025
- CBS News
Denver students blast to Old West past at Four Mile Historic Park
Just four miles from downtown, Denver's oldest standing structure sits on a piece of preserved history at Four Mile Historic Park. The park immerses visitors in the past, offering guided tours of the Four Mile House Museum, field trips, and outreach programs. One hundred fifty years ago, children in Denver learned to churn butter, weave, and care for farm animals. Today's students can step back into that lifestyle through the park's programs. "We are learning about what people did in the past," said fourth grader Madeleine Capka. When Four Mile Education Coordinator Anne Butler rings the bell, it's time for some good old-fashioned chores. "We're giving kids a taste of what life was like back in the 1800s," Butler said. "It wasn't all like video games and Minecraft and TV... you had to work." Four Mile Education Coordinator Anne Butler, left, teaches children at the Four Mile Historic Park about Old West chores and lifestyles at the Denver park. CBS Students grind coffee and churn butter, a chore that comes with a treat. "So we were shaking a glass of whipping cream, and it was so hard because we had to do it for a very long time, and then we put it on crackers and it was very delicious," Capka said. "She spread it on some crackers, and it was really good. It was like whipped cream and shake it up," said Crestview fourth grader Jett Elkshoulder. "It tasted really good. It tasted like three times as sweet." Butler has worked at Four Mile for more than a decade and enjoys stepping into the past. She and other educators wear bonnets and dresses contemporary to the mid-to-late 1800s. "I had a little obsession with Laura Ingalls Wilder," Butler said. "It's fun. I get to dress like this, this is my work uniform." Children are also introduced to farm animals and taught to weave, pan for gold, and push wagons. "They used wagons and they had to lift the wagons up, and sometimes they had to chop the wagons in half because things would break down or things would crack," Capka said. When homestead work is done, there's still time for music and games. Swallow Hill provides a musician who plays instruments that homesteaders would have had. "We were also doing like bowling, like with beanbags and pins, and I realized that was a rare treat. You could only do that certain times, and you were usually like working," Capka said. Four Mile also teaches children about the Indigenous traditions that predate the historic farm, through indigenous dancing and a speaker. "I am actually Cheyenne, Ute, and Navajo," said Elkshoulder. "I think it's pretty cool to like show that stuff." Children return to the 21st century a little tired, but with a new appreciation for life in the Old West. "It was really fun and I'm glad I got to learn about this stuff," Capka said. Through the Wagon Wheel Field Trip program, Four Mile will host 3,400 children in just six weeks. On May 23 and 24, Four Mile will host "Family Fun Free Days," a free event celebrating Native American heritage. On June 7, the park will hold its annual Rendezvous Gala, emceed by CBS Colorado's Olivia Young.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Tombstone ended up in a movie and brought its infamous history to a new audience
Just south of Tucson, sits one of the last boomtowns of the American West. Tombstone, nicknamed "the town too tough to die," is chock-full of Wild West lore and historic landmarks. Whether you're wandering Allen Street, taking a ghost tour in the Bird Cage Theater or chatting with people wearing Old West getups, you can't help feeling like you've discovered time travel. Though the town has been infamous for more than a century, a 1993 movie brought its story to a new audience. "Tombstone", featuring the late Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, was a box-office smash. The film centers around some of the most notorious characters of the West and, of course, their legendary showdown at O.K. Corral. Step back into the past. Here's everything you need to know about Tombstone, Arizona, and why you should visit. The legend of Tombstone began in 1877, when a down-on-his-luck prospector named Ed Schieffelin found himself searching for ore in the hills of the San Pedro Valley. As the story goes, Schieffelin was warned that all he would find would be his tombstone. When Schieffelin claimed mining rights over the rich silver deposits in the area, he named his discovery "Tombstone." Just four years later, the town was booming. Tombstone isn't notorious for it's minerals, though. Everything changed on Oct. 16, 1881, when a long-simmering feud erupted into a shootout near the now legendary O.K. Corral. City Marshal Virgil Earp appointed his brothers, Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday as deputy city marshals. The group strode through the streets with a concealed, sawed-off shotgun on a mission: disarm a no-good pack of ranchers and rustlers known as "the Cowboys." Firearms were not permitted in town, and tensions had been high between the two factions for months. It was the outlaws — Ike and Billy Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury and Billy Claiborne — versus the lawmen. The Earps and Holliday faced off against the group in a vacant lot about 100 feet west of the back entrance to the O.K. Corral. It's still debated who fired the first shot that fateful day, but the 30-second gunfight killed the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton. The Earp brothers and Holliday were wounded. Two months after the shootout, Virgil Earp was ambushed and seriously wounded. Morgan was killed with a shot to the back shortly after. Wyatt Earp would set out on his "bloody Vendetta Ride" after no one was convicted of either crime. He tracked down and killed the men he deemed responsible for the murders of his brothers and promptly left Arizona Territory. More Arizona history: Have you heard of these seven Arizona ghost towns? Though Tombstone was a tourist destination before, a 1993 movie cemented its status as a Wild West town worth visiting. The 1993 "Tombstone" was directed by George P. Cosmatos and starred Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Powers Boothe, Bill Paxton and, of course, the late Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. With Kevin Costner's big-budget "Wyatt Earp" set to hit theaters six months after the release of "Tombstone", Cosmatos' film was supposed to be the lesser of the two. It ended up becoming a favorite among modern Westerns. Val Kilmer's work in "Tombstone" is referenced amongst his greatest successes. USA TODAY reporter Brian Truitt described Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday as "a wry guy who looked like death, drank laudanum like it was going out of style but was still dangerous as a rattlesnake." Kilmer even named his memoir "I'm Your Huckleberry" for his love of Mark Twain and an iconic line in the film. You can stream "Tombstone" on Hulu, AMC+ or Philo. If Wild West history interests you or if you're planning a state-wide road trip, Tombstone is an essential destination. Consider stopping by the O.K. Corral, which was expanded to include the actual site of the famous gunfight. It sits at 326 East Allen Street. Catch one of the shootout reenactment shows at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily. Tourists often frequent Boot Hill Graveyard, another Tombstone landmark and Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers' final resting place. You can also visit the blacksmith shop, the O.K. Corral Stables, C.S. Fly's Photographic Gallery, the Tombstone Courthouse Museum, the Tombstone Epitaph Newspaper (a museum dedicated to Arizona's oldest, still running, newspaper) and the Good Enough Silver Mine. Even without the shows or tours, just spending time in Tombstone is enough to make you feel the rich, and often violent, history rushing through the town's veins. Despite the town's historic designation, the government doesn't provide funding for upkeep. This means the magic of Tombstone is created by the employees and residents who work to preserve the town's 1880s vibe, while also following the strict rules laid out in the historic designation. To get there from central Phoenix, take Interstate 10 east past Tucson to Benson. Go south on State Route 80 (at Exit 303) to Tombstone. Arizona Republic contributor Roger Naylor, Republic reporter Bill Goodykoontz and USA TODAY reporter Bryan Alexander contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tombstone, Arizona: How the movie highlighted its infamous story
Tatler Asia
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
How Ryan Coogler's ‘Sinners' raises the bar for the horror genre
Above Michael B Jordan plays Smoke and Stack (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros) Set in 1932, Clarksdale, Mississippi, the film takes us to the tail end of the Prohibition Era. The set design, dialogue and diction of the characters immerse the audience in the world that director Coogler built. Despite being set over 30 years after the end of the Old West era, the film somehow watches like a Western—peculiar but welcome. Sinners takes its time with its worldbuilding. For a movie about vampires, it takes about 50 minutes for one to appear on screen, easing audiences in without feeling dragged. Above Jack O'Connell plays Remmick, an Irish Vampire in 'Sinners' (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros) When we're introduced to the first vampire, Remmick (played by Jack O'Connell), he's being hunted by a band of Choctaw vampire hunters. Their brief scene time commanded the screen and showed us that the threat is serious and real, which makes it disappointing that they were never seen again. It would've been great to see how the experts would deal with a vampire threat, but their lack of involvement in the plot is understandable to avoid the 'knight in shining armour' cliché. See also: From controller to screen: 5 TV shows adapted from video games to watch Above The vampires waiting outside the juke bar (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros) The film's greatest strength is its music, composed by Ludwig Göransson. From the blues to country and even Irish melodies, each song was skillfully performed by the cast. Two scenes come to mind where the music was at its most powerful are Miles Caton's I Lied to You and O'Connell's Rocky Road to Dublin . The former is perhaps the film's most iconic scene, which is ironic as it didn't contain any vampires. Shot in one take, this scene gave audiences a look at Sammie's musical gift to summon their ancestors. African ancestors and modern DJs filled the room as the juke bar's customers jived to his song—blending ancient instruments with the familiar scratching of turntables to the blues. The latter is a mesmerising yet eerie foil to Caton's song. Rocky Road to Dublin was performed in an open field outside the sawmill by the vampires, who seemed like they were chanting demonically. O'Connell's performance was perfect, unsettling the audience without the need for jump scares and grotesque visuals. While present, the vampires preferred to charm their way in rather than with force—showing us true horror. Above The cast of 'Sinners' making their last stand in the juke bar (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros) The whole cast's performance was perfect, capturing their characters' little nuances. Playing dual roles as the twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, Jordan made them feel like two separate people—making it easy for the audience to tell who's who. Hailee Steinfeld and Wunmi Mosaku, who played the brothers' love interests, Mary and Annie, complemented their lovers—adding depth to their characters. Mary and Stack were exes who had difficulty being together due to the racial inequalities of the time, while Smoke and Annie had a foundation of love and support. 'I really found this whole experience of working with Michael quite magical. When it was Smoke and Annie, our relationship on the set, as Wunmi and Michael, was so easy and our shorthand was so in sync… His energy was so different that I could tell with my back turned who was walking onto the set—if it was Stack or Smoke. No question. I didn't even have to look. It was so obvious to me. It was so nuanced and fine-tuned. The vibration was so clear. I could tell without a shadow of a doubt if it was Stack or Smoke,' says Mosaku. Above The cast of Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' (Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros) Towards the end, when the dust has settled from the vampire attack of last night, the film circles back and shows us Sammie's fate. Once the credits roll, make sure to stay in your seat as there is an additional scene that provides closure and a happy ending for the remaining characters. Coogler's Sinners is by far the best film of 2025 so far and deserves all the praise it gets—hopefully setting new standards for the genre as a whole. NOW READ 'A Minecraft Movie': when a video game adaptation gets it right In 'Nosferatu', true horror lies within the human Can Disney's 'Snow White' heal your inner child?
