The Copper Queen Hotel opened in 1902 in the booming mining camp called Bisbee. The Phelps Dodge Mining Company built it as a luxury hotel for visiting dignitaries and investors. At the time, Bisbee was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco. I know... it's kind of hard to believe! 20,000 people lived in Bisbee in the early 1900's compared to 5,575 in 2010.
The hotel was built in an Italian style and retains that old-world charm today!
For those accustomed to key cards, this is an old-fasioned key rack with real keys. Very quaint!
An abundance of polished oak and Italian mosaic tile adorned the lobby. It was truly like stepping back in time.
The hotel is reputed to be haunted and has been featured in several tv programs and books. There are, supposedly, three resident ghosts- a man, a "woman of the night" and a young boy about eight or nine years old. Amazingly, you have to pay extra to "get to" sleep in one of the haunted rooms- which we did not. And we did not see any evidence of paranormal activity.
Our room was charming, comfortable, and ghost-free. And I was extremely grateful that the hotel remodeled the original rooms to include their own bathroom (rather than one per floor!) and air conditioning!
After checking into the hotel, we ventured out to see a bit of the town before dark and find a place for dinner. Like all other mining towns I've seen, Bisbee is built on hills with narrow streets, many of which are cobblestone.
This is the main drag in town- notice that it's wider and paved! We enjoyed strolling along looking in the windows. Unfortunately for us, the shops all closed at 5 or 6 pm!
After a delightful dinner at the Bisbee Grille, we returned to the hotel to play Phase 10 until late at night. It seemed fitting that in a mining town where cards are king, we should play a card game!
MR KL
The next morning we again strolled along the main drag and did some shopping. Some of the shops had a company name, like "Woolworth's" for example, in the transom above the door as a visible reminder of the town in its heyday. Today those same shops are occupied by antique dealers, used book stores, art and jewelry shops.
To get an even better feel for the town, we took a "Trolley Tour." Our guide had lots of stories and gave us an overview of the town. The first thing he explained is that the town is built on hills... and therefore has A LOT of stairs! In some parts of town where the streets don't go to the top of the hill, rent is actually cheaper the higher up you go.
Can you imagine carrying your groceries, children, what-have-you up and down these stairs every time you left your house? No wonder we didn't notice any gyms in Bisbee!
Official addresses are often given as the staircase number and then the number of steps to the house. The lower right section of the photo has the address for the house at the top of the photo. And I love the "graffiti!"
And speaking of graffiti, Bisbee boasts of an unusual number of "artists." After Phelps Dodge closed the mine in 1975, the town was severely economically depressed and in danger of becoming a ghost town. According to our tour driver, many of the Haight Ashbury hippies moved to Bisbee bringing their artistic talents. They acquired houses by squatter rights and "revitalized" them, then moved to the next house and did the same. They opened shops selling everything from soap and lotions to coffee and honey. The townspeople embraced the idea and pretty soon the town was up and running again. And this time, it catered to the tourists!
This "people park" in Brewery Gulch is a great example of "hippie art!"
I love this dog park! Most of the art uses "repurposed" items- like the vinyl record in the center of the blue flower.
I mentioned the hills before. There are several and buildings pop up all over them. The city had several fires, the biggest in 1908 and it nearly decimated the town. Only a handful of buildings remained unscathed; the Copper Queen Hotel was one of them.
Bisbee is the southern most "Mile High" city in the United States and is just 8 miles north of Mexico.
While the barista at the Bisbee Coffee Co. made my coffee, I asked him what he liked best about living in Bisbee. He replied that Bisbee is a small town; very laid back and non-stressful. And the thing he liked least was that it's a small town; everyone knows your business. We enjoyed Bisbee very much and look forward to visiting again- there is still a lot we didn't see!
Thumb Up or Down: UP all the way around!
Miles Round Trip: see next post
Miles To Date: see next post
Percent of List Completed: 49%
Date of This Trip: April 28-29, 2012
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