Bisbee & Lowell Arizona

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We visited the historic town of Bisbee, AZ. This city in the Mule Mountains of southeast Arizona grew after copper was discovered in 1877. Today you can take an underground tour of the vast Queen Mine, look down into the Lavender Pit mine, or stroll the decorated streets of this artist's community. We enjoyed meandering the side streets adorned with art, visiting the Copper Hotel, the Historical Museum, eating lunch at Le Cornucopia Cafe, and checking out vintage Lowell.

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Photos

Bisbee, Arizona
Once booming due to copper mining. Now tourism keeps this artsy town going.

Copper
A piece of copper outside the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum. The museum chronicles the history this mining town with displays of artifacts, photographs and displays. The upper story includes a large collection of copper samples and other minerals.

Copper Queen Hotel
The hotel opened in 1902 and is Arizona's oldest continuously operated hotel.
Once the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, boasting a population of about 30,000. Not it is just under 5,000.

Copper Queen Hotel
The hotel has 48 recently remodeled rooms and suites with Victorian-era elegance and contemporary charm. The hotel is believed to be haunted with the ghosts of Julia Lowell, Little Billy, and The Man with No Name. Guests can stay in the three most haunted rooms in the hope of coming in contact with one of them.

Lobby
The woodwork if beautiful and the furnishings have that Victorian-era look.

Bar
The saloon was a favorite spot for John Wayne when he visited.

Graffiti
Welcomed in this artsy town, there is a large display of graffiti near the Art Gallery in the Alley.

Home entrance
Many of the homes in the area have brightly colored artwork. Loved the entrance to this home!

Art Alley in the Alley
The walls on both sides of the alley have mostly canvas artwork.

More Art in the Alley
You can easily spend an hour or more just looking at all the art in this alley.

Main Street
We enjoyed stopping in the shops along the main drag. It was fun to see some of the store's original occupants' signs still present-Woolworth and JC Penney were two we noticed.

Le Cornucopia Cafe
They have delicious local food. They have several quiches and soups daily as well as sandwiches and salads on the menu. Save room for dessert as the pies and cookies looked delicious. Unfortunately, we did not have room to try them.

Patisserie
Unfortunately, this bakery was closed. It was so cute we had to take a photo. Reviews are good, so if you are in Bisbee and it is open, stop in!

Copper Queen Library
Named Best Small Library in America by the Library Journal in 2019, this library has been checking out books since 1882. It is the oldest, continuously operated library in Arizona.

Copper
The library had a wonderful display of copper ore and mining equipment.

Queen Copper MIne
Bisbee was one of the greatest copper camps the world has ever known. In almost 100 years of continuous production, before they closed in 1975, the local mines produced metals valued at $6.1 billon (at 1975 prices). It is estimated that they mined 8,032,352,000 lbs. of copper, 2,871,786 ounces of gold, 71,162,986 ounces of silver, 304,627,600 lbs. of lead, and 371,945,900 lbs. of zinc.
Today, you can take a tour of the Queen Copper Mine. You are outfitted with a hard hat, miner's lamp, and a yellow slicker. The tour takes you underground, about 1500 feet into the mine.

Lavender Pit open mine
This 300-acre, 900' deep open-air-mine ceased production in 1974. Throughout its history copper, gold, silver, and turqoise were extracted from the mine.

Shady Dell Vintage Trailer Court
It began in 1927 as a place to provide trailer and camping spaces to weary travelers along the famous Highway 80. Today it is a mix of practicality and vintage fun-seeking for travelers.

Chevy
Mike has always loved these older Chevys.

Tiki Bus
You can stay in The Shady Dell Vintage Trailer Court for a night, weekend or week. This is a 1947 Airporter bus, is now The Tiki Bus. It has a Polynesian theme complete with a hand carved outrigger bar.

1957 Airfloat
We love the metallic color of this classic trailer! This was Airfloat's "Flagship" model. It has a Las Vegas motif inside and you can listen to the Rat Pack on an original phonograph.

Dot's Diner
Dot’s Diner serves up savorous breakfast dishes, mouthwatering burgers, and creamy, delicious shakes and more. Only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Lowell
Lowell was once a sizable mining town. Most of the original townsite was consumed by the excavation of the Lavender Pit mine in the 1950s. What remains is a street that features mid-century buildings, signs, artifacts, and vehicles. This outside museum showcases the decades of the 1940s through the early 1970s and is maintained by the "Lowell Americana Project", volunteers that work to restore and enhance the street.

Greyhound
We know some folks that would love to get a hold of this bus and turn it inot their home on wheels!