Phelps Dodge General Office Building

The Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum is a local history museum at 5 Copper Queen Plaza in Bisbee, Arizona. It is located in the Phelps Dodge General Office Building, a National Historic Landmark for the importance of the Phelps Dodge Corporation's role in the growth and development of the American Southwest. The museum is dedicated primarily to local history, particularly the town's founding and growth as a mining center.

Phelps Dodge General Office Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum
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Location	Copper Queen Plaza, Bisbee, Arizona
Coordinates	31°26′31.24″N 109°54′51.91″W
Built	1895
Architect	Phelps Dodge Co.
NRHP reference No.	71000109
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 3, 1971[1]
Designated NHL	May 4, 1983[2]

Building

The Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum is located in downtown Bisbee, facing south toward Tombstone Canyon Road near its junction with Howell Avenue. It is a two-story red brick building, its main section covered by a gabled roof. A single-story ell extends to one side, and its front facade is adorned by a pair of projecting two-story polygonal bays. Windows are typically topped by rounded arches, and the main entrance is at the center of the south facade, sheltered by a portico whose rounded archway is supported by square brick posts. Several of the interior rooms have been restored to a period appearance, while others are given over to museum galleries and offices.^[2][3][4]

The building was the headquarters of the Phelps Dodge mining company from 1896 to 1961.^[5] It thereafter house county offices, and served for a time as the local post office before being adapted by the city for use as a museum in 1971.^[3] It s designated a National Historic Landmark in 1983 for its associate with Phelps Dodge, whose growth mirrored that of the country and region in the second half of the 19th century.^[3][2]

Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum in 2018

Underground mine train outside the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. "Phelps Dodge General Office Building". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
3. ""Phelps Dodge General Office Building", September 1978, by George R. Adams and James B. Gardner (National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination)" (pdf). National Park Service. September 1978.
4. "Phelps Dodge General Office Building – Accompanying 3 photos, exterior, from 1978. (National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination)" (pdf). National Park Service. September 1978.
5. Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum