HISTORY

The Copper Queen Hotel, started in 1898 and completed in 1902, was the product of a booming mining camp called Bisbee. Once the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, it is now a beautiful, quiet getaway. While the town of Bisbee has “grown up,” it has not lost its charm. Soon after Bisbee became a town, Phelps Dodge Mining Company built the Copper Queen Hotel as a place for dignitaries and investors to relax in luxury.

Construction was difficult because Phelps Dodge had to blast away and clear a large portion of the mountainside in order for building to begin. Although the most modern and up to date materials were used, it did not lessen the difficulty of each task. In order for concrete to be mixed, water had to be pumped up the hill from the mercantile, what is now called Copper Queen Plaza, on Main Street. The walls were constructed to be nearly 2 feet thick, which helps keep the hotel cool during the summer months.

Once the hotel was completed, anyone who walked through the doors would notice the mosaic tile from Italy. Since the hotel was built in an Italian style, the tile was installed throughout the entire first floor lobby; the remaining tile can be seen in the hotel entrance. As the story goes, the cathedral ceiling in the Palm Room was all fitted with Tiffany glass. Nobody knows when it came down or what happened to it. There was an open air hallway behind two large windows along the southeast wall that acted as air conditioning for that era. The front desk was fabricated out of Tiger Oak and was surrounded with a wrought iron security cage. The unique safe behind the desk was once used at the Copper Mine until it became too small for the company payroll, which was all paid in cash. It was then passed down to the Copper Queen Hotel. Phelps Dodge cleverly paid their employees in cash, to have their money quickly returned to them in goods and drinks.

The Copper Queen Hotel was one of the most modern hotels in the west during that time. One can only imagine what changes the hotel has gone through to accommodate the modern day traveler.

Initially, the first floor was heated by a fireplace in the lobby. Now, the first floor has central air and heat. Originally, the hotel boasted 73 rooms with shared baths at the end of the hall on each floor. Today, the original hotel has 48 rooms with turn of the century Victorian charm, each room having its own modern private bath. The courtyard building adjacent to the hotel was originally built in 1904 to house Phelps Dodge’s lawyers’ offices as well as the surveyor’s and Western Union offices after they moved out of what is now the Saloon. This building was later converted to a bed and breakfast and bought back by the Copper Queen Hotel in 2006 giving the hotel a total of 52 rooms. The courtyard rooms are also decorated in a Victorian style and located just steps away from the hotel. The courtyard is brick-inlaid and has a relaxing fountain and wrought iron furniture to sit, relax and enjoy the day.

There are actually five floors to the hotel now, but the fifth floor is only a large room containing the mechanics of the elevator. Neither the elevator nor the fifth floor was original to the hotel when it was built. In fact, Phelps Dodge purchased a used 1939 model elevator and had it installed in 1944. To accommodate the elevator, the staircase had to be reconfigured and the second floor mezzanine was enclosed. It might be hard to believe, but the mezzanine was originally an open air space. The Copper Queen Hotel is the first and only hotel in Bisbee that has an elevator.

At one time, the hotel did have a parking lot. Cars would be parked three and four deep and you could not access your vehicle until you checked out. In the mid-1970's they decided that a pool would be a benefit to the hotel and it was installed where the parking lot used to be. What’s unusual about the location of the pool is that you’re at ground level, but on the second floor of the hotel. The pool offers spectacular views of what locals call, “B Hill”. The pool is heated from the sun during season with solar panels. While the hotel no longer has a dedicated parking lot, there is a city owned public lot approximately a half a block west of the hotel, behind the YWCA.

When the hotel was originally built the Saloon was actually about a quarter of the size that it is today with seating for about 12 people. The rest of the Saloon was used as office space for the Chamber of Commerce, the land surveyor and the Western Union office. Since then, it has been expanded to what you see today. Of interest in the Saloon is the 100+ year old, nearly life size, portrait of Lily Langtry. Lily was a stage actress from Jersey, England around the turn of the century. Legend has it that she was the love interest of Edward, Prince of Wales, later to be King Edward VII. She was Judge Roy Bean of Texas’ lady love, but he never met her.

The covered patios are a pleasant reprieve from the outside world. Sit on the dining room or bar patio and enjoy the pleasant weather. The Copper Queen Hotel boasts the only patio dining in old Bisbee.

Located roughly 100 miles southeast of Tucson and at an elevation of 5,300 feet, the hotel is usually 10 to 20 degrees cooler than in Tucson or Phoenix. In the winter, we are even blessed with an occasional snowfall. Bisbee is the southern most mile high city in the U.S. and is eight miles from the border of Mexico.

Although the Copper Queen Hotel has maintained the ambiance of the Victorian Era Old West, it has been renovated with modern day conveniences to make your stay more comfortable. Please take a look at our Rooms & Amenities!

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LEGEND ~ GHOST STORIES

The Copper Queen Hotel was recently featured on the Sci-Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters episode "Spirits of the Old West".

There are three resident ghosts at the Copper Queen Hotel. The first, an older gentleman, tall with long hair and a beard, is usually seen wearing a black cape and a top hat. Some claim they smell the aroma of a good cigar either before or after seeing him. He appears in the doorways or as a shadow in some of the rooms in the southeast corner of the fourth floor, near the Teddy Roosevelt room.

The second and perhaps most famous, is a female in her early thirties but the name of Julia Lowell. The story goes that she was a lady of the evening on Brewery Gulch and used the rooms in the hotel for her clients. She supposedly fell madly in love with one of the gentlemen and upon telling him, he no longer wanted anything to do with her. She then took her own life here at the hotel. Her presence is felt on the west side of the building on the second and third floors.

Some men have reported that they hear a female voice whispering in their ear. Sometimes she’s seen dancing provocatively at the foot of the bed and it’s said that she likes to play with men’s feet. Others claim that she appears in the shape of a bright white smoke. We pay tribute to her here at the Copper Queen Hotel by naming a room (in the area where she practiced her profession) the “Julia Lowell Room”.

Our third and youngest ghost is a small boy, age eight or nine. It is said that he drowned in the San Pedro River. It’s believed that his spirit found its way to the hotel because a relative, perhaps his mother or father was employed here at the time. He’s the most mischievous of the three. Guests, on the west side, and also on the second and third floors, have reported objects in their rooms moved from one table to the next! A few have reported that you can hear his footsteps running through the halls and sometimes his intoxicating giggle. Others claim that when they run bath water, they feel his presence. He is never seen, just heard.

We hope you enjoy your visit with us and if you happen to see any of our friends, please share with us your experience by entering your story in the “Ghost Journal” located on the front desk.