A black and white postcard of Bisbee, Central School, School Hill, and Brewery Gulch can be seen. When this photo was taken the steeple of the First Methodist Church was at it full height before a windstorm in 1921 damaged it. The front caption at the bottom reads: “Some of the Houses on the Hill – Bisbee, Arizona” The postcard is unused and was published by the Albertype Company, Brooklyn New York and Humphries Photo Publishers in El Paso, Texas.

Bisbee’s first residences were simple miners shacks assembled from the trees in the surrounding area. They sprang up around potential mining claims. As investment from the east poured in after viable ore bodies were found, the copper camp’s population rose dramatically leading to overcrowded wooden residences. These dwellings were vulnerable to flood and fire, especially those build lower in the canyon. The great October Fire of 1908 demolished most of these structures along Main Street in Bisbee. In the aftermath, many structures were rebuilt of brick and concrete. Many of Bisbee’s homes and boarding houses were built with porches that decades later were remodeled into sunrooms or mud rooms. After Phelps Dodge ended copper mining in Bisbee the population collapsed and houses went for cheap bringing in artists, hippies, and real estate speculators that permanently altered culture of the town. Today, many of the houses and other buildings in old Bisbee have been transformed into rentals, apartments, or otherwise including the former YMCA and more recently the Bisbee High School. ------ In 1883, the Copper Queen Mining Company built Bisbee’s first school, a one room adobe building. As the population grew so did the need for more schools. The city first considered using the former cemetery for a new location, but determined that the area was too small and decided to demolish the older school to make way for a new modernized schoolhouse. The Central School was built in 1905 adjacent to the YMCA and was designed by the architect Franklin C. Hurst in the Italianate style. S.W. Clawson served as the city’s superintendent overseeing the schools construction. As part of the Central Schools plans, it was also intended that the building also be used for City Hall and fire departments functions. Charles F. Philbrook , another superintendent of Bisbee’s schools, served as Central School’s first principal. The school received a playground in 1906 that was installed in front yard. Today, the building houses the Central School Art Project. The Central School Art Project began in 1982, formed by a tenants association of artists. In 1985, they were incorporated and received their 501 IRS status in 1986. The former school was purchased from the school district in 1994 and the Central School Project made renovations on the building. It remains a home for the art community in Bisbee

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