On to the Copper Queen

Jaz and I spent the night at the historic Copper Queen Hotel, in Bisbee, Arizona, the southernmost mile-high city in the U.S.  It’s also eight miles from the Mexico border.

The Copper Queen Hotel is old, but beautiful and we really enjoyed our stay

Construction on the hotel by the Phelps Dodge Corp. started in 1898 with completion in 1902.  Initially it was thought the hotel would lure investors into town, but construction was difficult at best as they had to blast through rock and clear a large part of the mountainside in order for the building to begin.  Water had to be pumped uphill and the walls were 22-inches thick to help keep the hotel cool during the summer.  The mosaic tile came from Italy and installed throughout the entire first-floor lobby.  There’s also an antique safe still located behind the lobby desk that is said to have been used at the Copper Mine til the payroll cash outgrew the safe.  Wow, to have that much money.

The safe is there for all to see, but no money is visible.

Originally the first floor was heated by a fireplace, but now has central heating and air conditioning.  There 53 rooms and we were on the fourth floor.  We were glad there was an elevator installed in the 40s.  In fact, the Copper Queen is the only hotel that has an elevator.   There was also a pool installed in the 70s.

We didn't test the pool but it was quite attractive with murals painted on the walls around it.

The painting of Lily, also known as the Jersey Lily, is near life size and is a nude.  For my younger friends, I chose to crop.

There’s a saloon, which we did not frequent, but has a painting of Lily Langtry, a stage actress from Jersey, England, around the turn of the century.  She was the love interest of Judge Roy Bean of Texas (who, by the way, never met her), and perhaps also of Edward, Prince of Wales.  Lots of legends, and she saw many visitors here, including John Wayne and Lee Marvin.  We loved our room, which was large, modern enough and with a wonderfully-modern bathroom with white-tile floors

This one's for Hobbs.

John Wayne's signature page is outside of the room where he stayed.

The hotel is said to have three resident ghosts, although we were not privileged to see or hear them.

The first is a gentleman who it’s said you can smell cigar smoke either before or after seeing him.  He hangs out on the fourth floor near the Teddy Roosevelt room.  We were on the fourth floor near this room but did not receive a visit. 

The second is Julia Lowell, who was a lady of the evening who fell in love with one of her clients.  He did not return her love and she committed suicide in the hotel.  A room is named for her near where she practiced her profession.  Her presence is felt on the second and third floors and sometimes gentlemen may hear a voice whispering in their ears.

We finally found this room.

The third is a young boy, 8 or 9 years old, who drowned in the San Pedro River.  His spirit is supposed to have come back to the hotel where perhaps his mom or dad worked.  He’s never seen but quite mischievous, sometimes moving things in the rooms, running up and down the halls and giggling.  His presence is also felt on the second and third floors.

While we weren’t treated to any sightings or soundings, it’s quite the hotel and was immensely fun to stay in such a fine piece of history.  And it was very reasonable …

OMG!!  There are things going bump in the hallway and the lights just flickered.  Oh, only the maid.