A black and white photo postcard of the Copper Queen Hotel circa 1939, with the Phelps Dodge General Office Building to the viewer's left of the image. The front caption reads: “Copper Queen Hotel Bisbee, Ariz L-113”. The postcard was unused and was published by L.L. Cook. Marilyn Brames collection.

The Copper Queen Hotel Construction began in 1898 and was opened in February 21, 1902. The hotel was built by the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company as a retreat for investors and was designed by the architectural firm Van Vleck and Goldsmith from New York. It was praised for its efficient design for being the most modern hotel in the southwest. The hotel is an example of the Italianate style and among the hotel’s amenities were a buffet, ladies parlor, and barbershop; it was built with forty-four rooms and two dining rooms and the cost of $100,000 (about $3,370,000 in 2021.) Charles Rouser served as a capable manager; he had plenty of experience from previous employment at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis. His stay was brief, and Tom Whitehead took over soon after, White transformed the hotel’s dining room into a round-the-clock-cafe. Management was then turned over to Charles Rouser’s son, Edward Rouser until 1906 when he and his newly wed bride were tragically killed in the April 18th earthquake in San Francisco while on their honeymoon. The original building started off with two square towers book-ending the building. In 1940, a third tower was added in the center for the installation of an elevator. Today the Copper Queen Hotel remains open and holds the record for the oldest continually operating hotel in Arizona. - The offices of the Copper Queen Mining Company were built in 1895 with red brick in the Italianate style. The left side door was designed to wide enough for two men to men to walk into the building shoulder to shoulder as part of Masonic rituals. Bisbee’s Masonic Lodge held their meetings on the second floor of the building before they built a new Masonic Hall on Main Street. The offices were renovated, adding a wide porch to the front and a vault on the second floor. On the right side of the first floor an extension was added to distribute the company payroll. When mining operations ended in 1975, Phelps Dodge gave their former office to the City of Bisbee and the building was transformed into Bisbee’s Mining and Historical Museum. In 1983 the former Phelps Dodge Office became a National Historic Landmark. The letters “C.Q.C.M.C.” stamped onto the step to the front door has been thoroughly worn on the right side from all the visitors over the years.

2010.24.13