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Copper Queen Library and Post Office

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Copper Queen Library and Post Office
The building in 2016
General information
Architectural style
Renaissance Revival
Location6 Main Street, Bisbee, Arizona
Current tenantsCopper Queen Library; U.S. Post Office
Construction started
1906
Completed
1907
OwnerCity of Bisbee
Technical details
Structural systemConcrete and gypsum block
Floor count3
Design and construction
ArchitectFrederick C. Hurst
DesignationsContributing property, Bisbee Historic District (NRHP, 1980)

The Copper Queen Library and Post Office is a three-story building on Main Street in Bisbee, Arizona, United States. It was designed by the local architect Frederick C. Hurst and built in 1906–07. Since then it has housed a U.S. post office on the ground floor and the Copper Queen Library on the top floor.[1] The library was founded in 1882 and is described as the oldest continuously operating library in Arizona.[2][3] The building is a contributing property in the Bisbee Historic District.[4]

History

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Executives of the Copper Queen mining company organized Bisbee's lending library in 1882, with 400 donated volumes kept in the company's store.[1][5] In 1885 the company gave it a two-story wood-frame building, which it shared with the town's post office. That building and its books burned in 1888. A brick replacement opened in 1892 and stood until 1906, when it was demolished to make way for the present building.[1][5]

By 1904 the post office had moved to Brewery Gulch. When the company announced plans for a new library building in 1906, townspeople petitioned the governor to have the post office moved into its ground floor.[1] In January 1907 the Bisbee Daily Review reported that the post office room in the new library building was getting its finishing touches, and that the postmaster planned to move the office the following Saturday night.[6] According to the state historic property inventory, the building was not occupied until January 1907 because supplies were delayed.[7] The City of Bisbee dates the library's opening in the new building to March 1907.[5] Because Bisbee had no home delivery, by 1908 its post office had more rented lock boxes (3,200) than any other post office in the country. It also had the nation's only all-female postal staff.[1][5]

The building was one of several public buildings erected wholly or partly by Phelps Dodge, the owner of the Copper Queen mine.[8] Phelps Dodge gave the library to the City of Bisbee in April 1976, after mining in Bisbee ended, and the Friends of the Copper Queen Library was founded that November.[5] The building was later renovated and an elevator was added. The city's history puts this work in 1997, and SAH Archipedia in 2007.[5][1]

In 2019 Library Journal named the Copper Queen Library the best small library in America.[3] In 2024 it received the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.[9]

Architecture

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The building has a polygonal footprint on a wedge-shaped site between Main and Commerce streets. It faces the space known locally as Post Office Plaza, at the entrance to Bisbee's commercial district.[1] The district nomination describes Main Street as entered between two landmarks, the Bank of Bisbee and this building.[10] The walls are concrete and gypsum block. The blocks, made in Douglas in sizes of 12 by 24 and 16 by 32 inches, were treated to look like brownstone.[7][1] The building has a rusticated front, classical columns, and porches on the north and east sides at the second and third floors. These sit behind full-height arches, and a simple cornice with dentils and brackets runs along the top.[7][1] The 1978 survey classed the style as Second Renaissance Revival influence. SAH Archipedia calls it "modestly Renaissance Revival" and "one of the most distinctive buildings in Bisbee".[7][1]

As built, the post office took the first floor, reading, game and card rooms the second, and the library the third.[7][5]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 McMahon, Heather N. Esperdy, Gabrielle; Kingsley, Karen (eds.). "Copper Queen Library and Post Office". SAH Archipedia. University of Virginia Press / Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  2. ↑ Paniagua, Tony (December 12, 2022). "Copper Queen Library". Arizona Public Media. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Brean, Henry (September 24, 2019). "After 137 years of service, Bisbee's library is declared best in America". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  4. ↑ Wilson, Marjorie H.; Stewart, Janet; Garrison, James; Garrett, Billy G.; Rothweiler, Thomas S. (August 24, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Bisbee Historic District". National Park Service. p. 61. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Library History". City of Bisbee. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Postoffice Room Is Ready". Bisbee Daily Review. January 19, 1907. p. 7 – via Chronicling America.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, Marjorie H.; Stewart, Janet; Garrison, James; Garrett, Billy G.; Rothweiler, Thomas S. (August 24, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Bisbee Historic District". National Park Service. p. 94. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  8. ↑ Wilson, Marjorie H.; Stewart, Janet; Garrison, James; Garrett, Billy G.; Rothweiler, Thomas S. (August 24, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Bisbee Historic District". National Park Service. p. 10. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  9. ↑ "IMLS Selects 2024 Winners for Nation's Highest Museum and Library Honor" (Press release). Institute of Museum and Library Services. May 21, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Marjorie H.; Stewart, Janet; Garrison, James; Garrett, Billy G.; Rothweiler, Thomas S. (August 24, 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Bisbee Historic District". National Park Service. p. 4. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
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