Neighborhoods History In the news Bisbee in films Maps Bisbee Creators Photo Gallery Video Gallery #beBisbee

Neighborhoods History In the news Bisbee in films Maps Bisbee Creators Photo Gallery Video Gallery #beBisbee

Neighborhoods History In the news Bisbee in films Maps Bisbee Creators Photo Gallery Video Gallery #beBisbee

Neighborhoods History In the news Bisbee in films Maps Bisbee Creators Photo Gallery Video Gallery #beBisbee

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Old Bisbee

Old Bisbee Historic Sites

Bisbee's Heritage Stairs

One of Bisbee’s most magnificent architectural achievements are the countless concrete stairs that cling to the steep canyonsides Lack of flat land and the need for miners and bosses to reside near their workings led to the construction of hundreds of hillside homes beginning in the late 1870s. The owners and occupants of the irregularly shaped, sometimes nearly vertical, parcels had to develop dependable routes to reach their properties. The sturdy early Bisbeeite initially relied on precipitous trails featuring switchbacks. However, these winding inclines soon proved impractical as they were difficult to maintain and became slippery in wet weather. Next, the clever canyonside dwellers constructed a network of wooden stairs, often resembling ladders! The wooden stairs provided straight up-and-down access to the dwellings from the canyon floor. This, however, changed in the 1930s. Many of the major concrete stairways we still see today were constructed during the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, one of the Federal Government’s back-to-work programs. ‘WPA’ was often pressed into the concrete or tagged on an embedded bronze plaque. It is still common for nice houses to be situated on a parcel that is accessible only by climbing 100 or 200 steps to reach the front door! Come explore our stairs...there are thousands of them!

Copper Queen Library

Originally located in a corner of the company store across the street, The Copper Queen was the first public library in Arizona. The current structure, built in 1905-06, is notable for its prominent three story high arches. The ground floor is occupied by the town's central post office, the second and third floors by the Bisbee Public Library. Its collections range from the original Pritchard donation of some 400 classic volumes to the most current titles (including print, audio, video, and electronic) in art, literature, history, politics, medicine, science, and popular culture. Friends of the Copper Queen Library is an association that sponsors educational and volunteer programs in connection with and support of the Library.

6 Main Street, PO Box 1857,

Bisbee, AZ 85603
(520) 432-4232

Copper Miner (Iron Man sculpture)

A New Deal Depression-era sculpture by R. Phillips Sanderson, cast in concrete and covered with a thin layer of copper and completed in 1935. Bisbee native Lee Petrovitch posed for the sculpture, which commemorates the copper miners of Bisbee, and aims to portray ‘beauty, toil and simplicity’. Sanderson had moved to Bisbee during the Depression and worked as a commercial artist. He was paid $30.00 per month by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration during the six months it took to complete the statue.

100 Quality Hill (Quality Hill at Tombstone Canyon Rd.), Old Bisbee

Warren Historic Sites

Evergreen Cemetery

Established in 1892, Evergreen replaced the Old City Park cemetery in Brewery Gulch, which was upslope from the drinking water wells. Several astute folks of the late 19th century suggested that such a situation might pose a health risk to the early residents of Bisbee. By order of the Common Council of Bisbee in 1914, the transfer of the residents from the old cemetery to Evergreen had begun. Today, there are over 10,000 burials in the cemetery.

Old Douglas Road, Lowell

Warren Ballpark

The ballfield is (arguably) the oldest continuously-operated baseball diamond in the U.S.

Historically, copper has been the community's work, but baseball is its play. When the Warren town site was laid out in 1906, a spot was reserved for Warren Ballpark. The first game was played there June 27, 1909. The Ballpark was originally built to give mine workers and their families a chance to watch baseball on lazy summer nights. The cost of construction was $3,600. In its early years, the Warren field hosted town, company and semi-pro teams.

In November 1913, the Chicago White Sox and the New York Giants battled it out at Warren as part of an international tour to drum up interest in baseball. The game purportedly featured five future Hall of Famers: outfielders Tris Speaker and Sam Crawford, catcher Ray Schalk, manager John McGraw, and pitcher Red Faber, who would go on to become the majors' last legal spitball pitcher. Also competing that day was 1912 Olympic hero Jim Thorpe, who would eventually be inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. He hit a home run to help the Giants win.

The park also holds a notorious place in American labor history, as the location where 1,300 kidnapped, striking miners were marched at gunpoint and held during the Bisbee Deportation in 1917.

The first organized minor league team, the Bisbee Bees, began playing in Warren in 1928, in the Class D Arizona State League. Bisbee teams have been farm clubs of the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees, and some famous names have passed through town. Future Yankees player and manager Billy Martin played at Warren for the Phoenix Senators in 1947.

The stadium still hosts vintage "Base Ball" tournament each year, with teams from throughout the southwest competing according to 19th century rules, and sporting era-appropriate uniforms.

Ruppe Avenue at Arizona Street, Warren