With its huge abandoned mining pits, stone buildings and somber gray facade stretching silently off into distant hills, this once-thriving copper town looks as if it might have been conceived by Brendan Behan or some other melancholy poet.
So it was no surprise that when mining operations ceased in 1975 and workers left in droves, a steady stream of artists, writers and poets moved in to fill the void.
Most were attracted to Bisbee's historic past, its unique victorian overtones, its proximity to Mexico (six miles from the tiny border town of Naco), its cool mile-high altitude, its low rents. Many of the miners' homes could be had for little more than back taxes.
They weren't dilettante artists in search of quaint surroundings. By and large, they were hard-working young people - and a few old souls - willing to invest a little of their own future in a town that seemed to have no future at all.
Soon the sounds of rock music and craftsmen's tools were wafting from behind the buildings' weathered facades. The abandoned mining pits were spruced up and opened to visitors. Deserted foundries housed trendy galleries.
On my first visit to Bisbee several years ago, I stopped into the Bisbee Book Stall on Brewery Gulch, where a sign in the window advertised out-of-print book searches, and ordered a book I had been looking for for years. It was "The Incredible Fillibuster," the biography of pioneering aviator Col. Dean Ivan Lamb, whom I had interviewed for the Air Force Times when I was in the service. He had flown with Pancho Villa.
A couple of months later, the shop's owner, John Kuehn, wrote to me in new york that he had found the book. I was delighted. I sent a check. He sent the book.
On my recent visit to Bisbee, I wanted to stop in and say hello. But the store was closed. The owner had died. We had met only so briefly, but I felt I had lost a friend.
Bisbee gained some bookish notoriety on a national level when resident WalteR Swan wrote a book about his childhood there in Cochise County. When he could find neither a publisher or distributor for his book, he published it himself and opened the "One Book Book Store" on Main Street. Wearing overalls and a black stetson, Swan sat in the front window of his store where there was always a line of people waiting for him to sign his quick-selling book.
He's no longer with us, either. Known as Little San Francisco at the turn-of-the-century because of its many hills and its prosperity, Bisbee has blossomed again. Its art, craft and antique shops, tours of abandoned mine shafts, unique restaurants and homespun hotels draw a steady stream of visitors, especially on weekends.
Notorious Brewery Gulch, once known for its shady ladies, now offers poetry readings and chamber music concerts. A few of the old saloons remain. (The Stock Exchange Bar still has the original chalk boards from the Bisbee Stock Exchange, and there's an autographed picture of Willie Nelson on the wall.) Others serve as boutiques and souvenir shops.
The 42-room Copper Queen Hotel, a victorian cupcake named after the famous Copper Queen Mine, has been meticulously restored. It's still cooled by ceiling fans. No two rooms are alike. John Wayne's name appears on the register. So does poet Allen Ginsberg's.
Built by the Copper Queen Mining Company (later Phelps Dodge) in 1890, the hotel played host to mining executives, traveling men, territorial governors, and some of the more flamboyant characters of the west, including Teddy Roosevelt and Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing.
At the three-story red-brick Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, located just in front of the Copper Queen Hotel, visitors can buy a bit of Bisbee's historic past in the form of vintage photographs - C.S. Fly portraits of apaches, photos of Pancho Villa's troopers across the border in Naco or photos of early arizonans; rangers with guns drawn, cowboys, miners and gamblers. originals are expensive, but reproductions cost only a few dollars, with sepia toning (for an added look of authenticity) a bit extra. Along with its excellent photo exhibits (curated by Tom Vaughan), the museum features frontier furnishings and early mining memorabilia and equipment.
The town is not without its share of hokum. The OK Street Jailhouse (call 520-432-7435), once a downtown branch of the Cochise County Jail, is now a one-room hotel. THe downstairs jailer's office is the reception area, the drunk tank is the living room and the heavily barred upstairs cell is the bedroom. The rate is $100 per night; $150 for two nights. Perched on the side of a narrow canyon, Bisbee's streets are too steep for mail delivery, making it one of the few towns in the United States without rural postal service. Residents pick up their mail at the post office, which shares a downtown building with the local library.
Bisbee was founded in 1880, but the area's recorded history goes back for centuries. In 1534, Spanish conquistadors came through what is now Cochise County looking for the lost seven cities of gold. The next 300 years saw an influx of Spanish and Mexican settlers, pioneers, cowboys and indians. In 1877, rowdy, brawling miners began to arrive. They gave the town its backbone and its character. *****
Additional Information
If you go
Getting there: Bisbee is about 100 miles southeast of Tucson (drive east on I-10 until you reach Benson - about 45 miles - then get on U.S. 80 and continue south through Tombstone TO Bisbee.
Where to stay: The 42-room Copper Queen Hotel (520-432-2216), a victorian landmark named after the famous Copper Queen Mine, was built in 1890. Rates are from $67-$70, single or double. A loyal clientele booking well in advance makes weekend reservations difficult to acquire. Greenway House (520-432-7170) A restored mansion that once belonged to Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, has seven rooms, from $80 to $95 per double, including breakfast. The Bisbee Inn (520-432-5131) was built as a boardinghouse in 1917, close to the saloon district. Rates, from $60 per double. High Desert Inn (520-432-1442) is located at the entrance to Old Bisbee; its five rooms range from $60 TO $80.
Where to eat: While many of the rustic restaurants in Bisbee defy description, the Cafe Roca is already well established and popular after only a few years in business. The owner is a former chef at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. The atmosphere is tin-ceiling rustic with an outdoor dining terrace and indoor tables set around a period bar. The menu is primarily Northern Italian (and prices are upscale Arizona). The Brewery Restaurant offers mesquite-grilled steaks and ribs, fresh seafood and light lunches at reasonable prices.
Nearby attractions: The Chiricahua Mountains, home of Chiricahua National Monument and historic Fort Bowie, are 60 miles northeast of Bisbee. A half-hour north of town is Tombstone, with its high-noon shootouts and colorful saloon halls.
Additional information: Write Greater Bisbee Chamber Of Commerce, P.O. BOX B.A., Bisbee, AZ 85603; or call 520-432-5421.