Bucket of Blood Legacy Outlasts Route 66
August 18th, 2008By Tammy Gray-Searles
Post location: 34.900037383331195,-110.15972971916199
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Although by the 1920s Route 66 was on its way, and the Bucket of Blood Saloon had the appearance of a respectable establishment, sidled up to a general store and across the way from an early gasoline station, the saloon still captivated travelers, who stopped in to see the bullet holes in the walls and a stain on the floor that reportedly remained from the gunfight that gave the bar its name.
In the mid-1880s, the little western Arizona town of Holbrook was known as a place “too tough for women and churches.” There was no law enforcement to speak of and a group of cow punchers from the Aztec Cattle Company had moved into the area. These cowpunchers called themselves the Hashknife Outfit, and they soon became known far and wide at the “theivinist, fightinist bunch of cowboys in the west.” Rustling cattle from other cattle companies, as well as stealing and shooting were everyday activities for the Hashknife cowboys. They were major players in the Pleasant Valley Feud, one of the longest and bloodiest land and cattle feuds in the history of the United States.
The year 1886 was a notable one for the Hashknife cowboys and the Bucket of Blood Saloon. That year alone there were 26 shooting deaths in Holbrook, a notable number for any western settlement at the time, but especially for a town with a population of only about 250. Most of the shootings were attributed either directly or indirectly to the presence of the Hashknife Outfit. The Bucket of Blood Saloon rose to infamy that year when a brutal gunfight broke out between members of the Hashknife Outfit and a group of cowboys who accused them of stealing cattle.
Gunfights and even casual gunfire were common at the Bucket of Blood, in fact, a painting hangs in the local museum bearing two bullet holes from a target competition between two betting cowboys who both turned out to be poor shots.
But the gunfight that took place was like nothing that had ever been seen in the saloon before. Historical documents don’t offer a count of how many men died or were injured, but written records say that the result was “buckets of blood” on the floor. Thus, the name of the saloon was changed to Bucket of Blood.
Today the Bucket of Blood is boarded up, and sits in a lonely part of town. The trees hide the site where one of the bloodiest gunfights of the west took place. Residents of Holbrook haven’t forgotten about the Bucket of Blood however, and now embrace the wild west history, claiming to have a past “wilder than Tombstone, but made up of events that really did happen.”
The street that runs in front of the old saloon was renamed from “Central” to “Bucket of Blood Street,” a move that landed the street on a number of top ten lists citing the most unusual street names.
Travelers going down Route 66, just a block away, still take a turn off the America’s Highway to get a glimpse of the remains of a saloon that witnessed a time in history when the west really was wild.
The saloon has stood for more than 120 years, right next to the train tracks where the cattle rustlers of yore loaded their cattle for shipment to the east, surviving floods, fires and the constant vibration of trains that continue to pass by. Much of the building was constructed using local sandstone, which lends a rich red color.
And while the beautiful stonework on the front is still in nearly pristine shape, a protective layer of stucco on the back is falling away, revealing the stacked stone construction in the back that is beginning to give way to the ravages of time.
Popularity: 4%
The 1893 Fair That Changed the World
August 11th, 2008By Jonathan Haeber
Post location: 41.784433075249396,-87.58275032043457
In 1892, an entire city arose from the swamps of Chicago to host the greatest mass of people ever assembled in the United States. On the heels of the Paris World Exposition, America wanted to display its new industrial might and cultural refinement. The Chicago World’s Fair drew a crowd of 27 million. At the time, essentially half of America’s population attended.
Surrounded by a country mired in the depression of the early 1890s, Chicago seemed to be in a world of its own - completely oblivious to simple economics.
This exhibition was for the American Cereal Company - the famous purveyors of Quaker Oats
It was here that Shredded Wheat made its first foray into the American iconosphere (which was described by fair-goers as “shredded doormat” “sawdust” or “cardboard,” despite its later success). Juicy Fruit captivated fair-goers, men had their first swig of Pabst Blue Ribbon. And perhaps the fair’s greatest achievement was the invention of the Ferris Wheel. No other element of the landscape has had such a profound effect on our milieu of outdoor leisure.
This was no simple fair. It was the “World’s” fair - the Gilded Age equivalent of the Epcot center, but on a much larger scale. And it was all built in less than a year.
In 1892, Chicago was home to scores of stockyards and slaughterhouses. Everywhere, was the smell of blood and death. The homicide rate in the city was among the highest in the country. All around were the signs of a soon-to-be great city that needed something to set it apart. The fair’s symbol was the Phoenix - perhaps the most appropriate symbol ever chosen for any event in the history of mankind, because in less than two decades, Chicago had arisen from the ashes of the Great Fire and housed the greatest architects and architecture of its time.
This painting by William Hunter Crane, depicts the debaucherous “carnival” adjacent to the World’s Fair, the Midway Plaisance. Note the Phoenix engraved at bottom left, the world fair’s official symbol.
In Chicago, Frank Lloyd Wright got his start. It was Daniel Burnham, the man who designed the Flatiron building and D.C.’s Union Station, who planned the fair’s architectural environment. The grounds were meticulously laid out by Frederick Law Olmstead, landscape designer of Central Park, and the country’s premiere Landscape Architect.
Here, the world’s largest building - said to have the capacity for the entire Russian Army - was built in months. It was the first large-scale use of electricity. Generators, incandescent bulbs, alternating currents, and electric boats were everywhere. The vast majority of visitors to the fair had never seen these things in their life.
If there’s one book any aspiring architect or landscape aficionado should read, it’s Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City. It’s a true account of the events, the men, and the tragedy that resulted from the fair. Larson paints a portrait of an America that had ambition - something which seems a spectre in today’s modern mode of stasis.
In the coming months, you’ll be treated to a smorgasboard of buildings — all exclusively garnered from a recent acquisition of Bearings. We’ve hand-picked these sketches from a rare 1893 book. Above is the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building - the world’s largest building. Others will be presented soon, and thank you for reading Bearings.
Popularity: 5%
Drug Store in Paducah, KY
August 3rd, 2008By Jonathan Haeber
This from one of my favorite flickr contacts, army.arch. The Albertson’s drug store, located at 32nd and Broadway in Paducah, KY.
The list on the bottom right, entitled, “Honor Roll” shows the drug store’s ex-carhops, who were - at the time - in the armed forces.
This was retrieved from the National Archives.
Popularity: 2%
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