Cruising Past Seventy: The Inner Journeys: TRAVEL AWAITS ARTICLES: How to Spend a Perfect Day in Bisbee, Arizona

Friday, May 21, 2021

TRAVEL AWAITS ARTICLES: How to Spend a Perfect Day in Bisbee, Arizona


The full article was published in Travel Awaits on June 4, 2020.

One of my husband’s favorite authors, J.A. Jance, set most of her books in Seattle, Washington, where she lived most of her life (also where we lived before we started RVing). But the Brady series is set in the town of Bisbee, where she was raised. 

Bisbee is less than 12 miles north of the Mexican border, founded as a copper, gold, and silver mining town in 1880. It grew to its highest population of over 9,000 in 1920 but today, just 5,000 people make it home. In the middle of the 1970s, it transformed itself into a tourist and artists’ haven. That was when, just like in other mining towns in Arizona, companies stopped their mining operations. 

Phelps Dodge Corporation worked with the local government to create a mine tour that was part of the town’s bid to become a tourist destination. The federal government also provided federal aid to complete the flagship tour of the Copper Queen Mine, one of many things that make a perfect day in Bisbee.

The Queen Mine Tour

from the Queen Mine Tour

Bisbee’s Queen Mine was one of the richest copper and one of the largest mines in history. In 1976 it reopened as a tourist destination less than 100 years after the mine originally opened. A high-quality turquoise known as Bisbee Blue was a by-product of its copper mining days and today is a regarded and priceless collectible. 
About 50,000 people a year, outfitted with a hard hat and a miner’s headlamp, take the Queen Mine Tour. For about an hour, you will see how miners worked, going down to 1,500 feet below ground. Temperature down there remains at 47 degrees year-round. 

The Lavender Pit

Lavender Pit Photo Credit: Lynn Libert Andrews of the Arizona Photography Group

Near this Queen Mine is the former open-pit copper mine called Lavender Pit. Jeep tours are available if you want to see it up close. It's not colored purple; it got its name from Harrison M. Lavender, who, as vice-president and general manager of Phelps Dodge Corporation, proceeded to make the previously unprofitable low-grade copper-bearing rock in the area into commercial copper ore. 

The Copper Queen Hotel

The Copper Queen Hotel, Facebook

Bisbee’s development as a tourist destination spurred artist Stephen Hutchison to purchase and redevelop the famed Copper Queen Hotel. Today, it is the most iconic lodging place in town. In 1898 the Queen Consolidated Mining Company provided the hotel with a comfortable place for the executives and dignitaries when they visited.  

"John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Lee Remick, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland, Ollie North, Nancy Reagan, Gabby Giffords, Jake LaMotta, and Linda Ronstadt are some of the famous people who have stayed in this historic hotel. John Wayne’s favorite room is up the main staircase on the second floor, and it is the most requested room today. But the Copper Queen Hotel is even better known for those who checked in but never checked out. It is said there are 16 spirits haunting the hotel, and this is why I will never stay the night!" The former Copper Queen Cafe and Saloon are both still in their original locations but are now known as 1902 The Spirit Room and The Overlook Saloon. It's the same saloon where John Wayne and Lee Marvin once had a disagreement that ended with Marvin being thrown out a window by the Duke.

"It is also interesting to know that the large boiler in the basement of the Mercantile Building across the street (owned by Phelps Dodge) was used to heat the Copper Queen Hotel through a tunnel, while The Palm Room on the first floor was used as air well to provide cool air to the rooms during the area’s hot summers. The swinging double doors that do not lock and open to the lobby are still there, reminiscent of the good ol’ doors of the Western days. In fact, the Queen Copper Hotel is the longest continuously operated hotel in Arizona" and the only full-service hotel in town. 

Old Bisbee


Old Bisbee has a thriving cultural scene with Victorian-style houses and an elegant art deco county courthouse. Compact and walkable, downtown is quite hilly so there are a lot of stairs from which you can discover little stores or artists’ places. The best example, however, is the old four-story-high school that has a ground-level entrance for each floor given the way it’s built into the hillside.

Erie Street

Dave Corby, Facebook

You should not miss Erie Street, dubbed a living snapshot of a different time. It's like stepping into a Western movie set. It's the only thing left of Lowell, Arizona, a former mining town that was incorporated into Bisbee in the early 1900s. There are only three real stores on the street; the rest are empty. Each year in March, the entire street turns into a festival with live music, cars and motorcycles on display, and lots of food and drinks. In December when we visited, the Western Christmas decor was priceless.

Museums

from Facebook

If you have more than a day, there are three museums that would you could visit. The Bisbee Council on the Arts’ Mining and Historical Museum was once the headquarters of the Queen Consolidated Mining Company. It is Smithsonian Institution’s first-ever rural affiliate. And there is the Bisbee Restoration Museum run by volunteers and the Muheim Heritage House Museum whose restored interior and precious period furnishings have made it a National Historic Site.

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28 comments:

  1. This was how we spent our day in the old mining turned cultural destination Bisbee, Arizona.

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  2. I always though it would be fun to go on an old mine tour. You put together a very informative article about the area.

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  3. It would be fun to visit the town where the J.A.Jance Brady series is based. We would certainly book a jeep tour to see the Lavender Pit. Even if we did not find lavender there! And a stroll along Erie Street would be a fun way to go back in time.

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  4. Thanks for the fun tour, this reminds me of my visit to Jerome which shares some of the same history and conversion to tourist and art center. I would love to visit some day to Bisbee.

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  5. This is nice! Haven’t visited AZ. Would love to see the lavender pit in addition to others

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  6. Such a great place to explore. I’ve never seen a mining town/site. I think it will be a nice get to know nature trip if I visit Bisbee AZ.

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  7. I might be down that way in the fall. Thanks for writing this; it never would have occurred to me to visit Bisbee, Arizona!

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  8. Thx for this super post featuring Bisbee, Arizona, Carol. I’ve heard about this destination in the past, but has not previously known someone who had personally enjoyed it. Your endorsement resonates with me.

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  9. I didn’t even know Bisbee existed! The lavender pit looks so beautiful and unique. I really enjoy places that make you feel like you’re somewhere different or somewhere you once loved. Great article!

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  10. What perfect timing! My boyfriend and I were just talking about taking a trip to Arizona and I'd love to add Bisbee to our itinerary. Mines fascinate me and I'd love to see the copper mines here. I was lucky enough to tour a copper mine in Butte in 2019. Thanks for sharing a great place to stay while we're there, too!

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  11. This is very interesting. I had no idea about the mining history of this region so it would no doubt be a great place to explore.

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  12. I haven't been to Bisbee, yet, although I was few times to Arizona. Now I know that is worth seeing, great tips on what to do there. I add The Queen Mine Tour to my list must-see.

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  13. Bisbee is one of our favorite places in Arizona and J.A. Jance has for decades been among my favorite authors. She does have another series of books set in Arizona with the protagonist being a former television news reporter who gets caught up in solving crimes. I do love the Joanna Brady series set in this part of the state as well!

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    1. Oh, I thought it was just the Brady series! What town in Arizona is that other series based on? Tombstone?

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  14. lovely shots and lovely places to visit! i want to travel there too soon

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  15. We had never heard of Bisbee, so this article opened our eyes to a potential stop in Arizona. It looks like a fun place to spend a day.

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