Bisbee, AZ to Douglas, AZ (Hwy 80)
The next stage of the trip involves heading to the southernmost point of my voyage, the border with Mexico at Douglas, AZ. Hwy 80 threads its’ way through the Mule Mountains before emerging onto the flat desert around Douglas. But first, leaving Tombstone the highway heads south before turning east and weaving up a narrow canyon and through a tunnel before starting to descend into the town of Bisbee, AZ. At one time in the early 1900’s Bisbee was the largest town in Arizona Territory with over 20,000 people living on the steep sides of the canyon and beyond. The lure of the area was a combination of gold, silver and copper first discovered by Army scouts while in pursuit of Apache. In the next hundred years over eight BILLION pounds of copper where removed from the lower canyon, first via deep mine shafts and then after World War I by open pit mining. The RV park that I am staying at is perched on the western edge of the huge open pit, with views looking down at the town on the left and the pit on the right.
Farther east along the highway the view over the pit looking back to the west towards Old Bisbee shows how close the RV Park is to the edge.
The canyon “pinches” at the RV Park, narrowing to the point where only the highway fits but via a tunnel under the highway the downtown area is an easy 5 minute walk. Emerging from the tunnel I am standing at a point where a small canyon from the north joins the main canyon which runs east/west. This small area (maybe an acre in size) is really the only “flat” area to be found in the entire town.
Main Street runs up the floor of the canyon with a row of buildings on each side, the rest of the town climbs up the canyon walls. As I walk west two major buildings rise to my right, the local headquarters of the Phelps Dodge Mining Company and, just behind it, the Copper Queen Hotel.
Most of Main Street was built in the early 1900’s and is now home to stores, art galleries, restaurants and bars.
In 1905 two major public buildings were completed, the fire station on lower Main Street and Central School, perched on the north canyon wall.
Residential houses clothe the canyon north of Main Street.
The Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company (owned by Phelps Dodge) dominated the local economy and contributed to the construction of several buildings designed to help entertain and assist the men and women of the town. The 1903 Gymnasium (left) was built to provide facilities for men as well a community hall for dances, etc. Phelps Dodge donated the property to the YMCA in 1905 and twelve years later built a similar facility for women (the YWCA) across the street (right.)
There are no empty storefronts to be seen and even on the few side streets little boutique shops are testimony to the strength of the tourist economy. Here’s a little store off the main drag that specializes in the 1950’s with everything from toasters to clothing for sale.
Brewery Gulch angles north from Main Street. At one time in the early 1900’s over 50 bars, saloons and breweries clustered along the Gulch, now three cater to the tourist trade.
As I head back to the RV Park, I can see the RV’s above as I exit the tunnel from Main Street. Great location for me!
Just east of downtown the great open pit mine, the Lavender Pit, which closed in 1974, has eaten up the valley.
On the far side of the pit sit what once were the towns of Lowell and Warren. Lowell has been absorbed by the pit but Warren (now part of the town of Bisbee) sits just beyond. Warren was a planned community, built in the early part of the 1900’s to house workers for the mine. It was one of the first planned communities in the United States and is in the shape of a fan, spreading out from higher land by the mine to the south. One of the amenities provided is allegedly is one of the first baseball parks in the nation, Warren Field, built in 1909, and still in use.
Mine tailings now look down on the larger homes at the elevated southern tip of the fan, homes of middle management just below, and the workers’ cottages line the lower streets in a rather graphic display of the social strata of Old Bisbee…
One of the secrets to the popularity of Bisbee is the great weather. While it sits squarely in the middle of the desert, the high elevation mutes the extreme temperatures and provides for a pleasant, dry, climate year around. While the copper was mined in Bisbee, the smelters were located about 25 miles to the southeast out on the desert in Douglas. I leave the Mule Mountains and head out across the desert, which looks dry from a distance but is relatively green in this early spring as we head to Douglas.
Douglas, AZ
Douglas is a small border town of about 17,000 people directly adjacent to the much larger Mexican city of Agua Prieta. The last copper smelter closed in 1987 and the local economy has not recovered from the blow. The main street is a dismal collection of decaying buildings, minimal retail and empty streets. I originally had not planned to stop as the highway skirts the northern edge of the town but at the very entrance to the town an imposing building caught my eye. The historic 1914 El Paso & Southwestern train depot is a wonderful example of the importance of the train depot in the early 1900’s, intended to impress the traveler. Of course, the train no longer stops in Douglas and in 1992 the building was rescued and remodeled as the headquarters for the Douglas Police.
Most of the building is off limits, but the rotunda is open and is furnished with chairs original to the period.
Just past the police headquarters the main street heads due south about six blocks to the Mexican border. The closing of the smelter eliminated the largest employer in town, doesn’t look like things are going well in Douglas in the aftermath…
In the midst of the decay stands out the largest building in town, the Gadsden Hotel.
The outside isn’t much, but inside is one of the stunning jewels of a by-gone era. Patrons enter the Gadsden Hotel via a grand entry hall…
The entry hall opens up into a magnificent two-story lobby.
The Tiffany stained glass skylight above and wall of windows on the second story street wall are stunning. I tried getting creative with my photography skills to try and highlight the stained glass ceiling and front wall…
I climbed to the second story and got a great view of the lobby below.
Even the doors to the individual rooms are original as is the entrance to the bar on the main floor.
The restaurant has also been restored to its’ former glory.
I have no idea where they get enough business to keep operating, maybe from traffic to and from Mexico? Just blocks south of the hotel the main street ends at the border wall.
Part of the reason there is so little traffic in downtown is that traffic to Mexico is routed one block west to the Pan-American Highway. The only reason to be on that highway is to enter Mexico so there’s no current businesses along the way but a relic of Douglas’ better days stands silent witness to the passing of time. In 1905 the rail road and copper companies joined forces to try to meet the needs of their workers by providing recreational facilities. Here, one block west of the downtown core, sits the Douglas Railroad YMCA, slowly decaying in the desert sun.
All in all, an interesting stop on the US border.
Next up: A detour to the Land of Enchantment
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