Bisbee, Arizona, Then and Now
Photos and text by Boyd Nicholl

Enter Bisbee and turn back the clock.

Situated in southeastern Arizona, Bisbee gained prominence as a mining center in the late nineteenth century. Today's Bisbee preserves this atmosphere, set in the matrix of the West's once extensive copper kingdom. The stately turn-of-the-century buildings of the historic downtown emanate the wealth generated by the city's copper mines founded to answer the call of the Age of Electricity.

With a history deserving of National Landmark status, it's only fitting that Bisbee's past be captured in a visual accounting of its architectural landscape.

Boyd Nicholl has been on the staff of the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum for more than a decade. I know, firsthand, his love of and dedication to bringing Bisbee's history out of the Museum's archives and to the general public. Combined with his years of researching Bisbee history, Boyd is also a professional photographer, completing his AA, Photography, from Rochester Institute of Technology and BFA, Photography, from the University of Arizona. In Bisbee, Arizona, Then and Now, Mr. Nicholl combines his talents in providing an annotated tour through the contours of Bisbee's architectural history, then and now.

Carrie Gustavson, Director
Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum

Text for the photos:
Copper Queen library, c. 1902
On Main Street, the library was a gift to the city from the Phelps Dodge Mining Company and continued to be run by the company until the 1960s. The post office is located on the first floor, below the library in the modern photo. Due to the steep hills, Bisbee offers no home mail delivery, so the post office remains a good place to meet neighbors.

A note on the photographs.

The "then" photographs are all from the collection of the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum. The Museum holds some 25,000 images of Bisbee from all its different phases. The old town has attracted photographers both professional and amateur from its earliest days. The "now" pictures try to duplicate as much as possible the earlier images, but because of physical changes in the town and in photography itself, it is not possible to get exactly the same feel or viewpoint. I hope you enjoy this comparative view of Bisbee. It is a city I have come to truly love.

Boyd Nicholl

Softcover, 9 x 7, photographs, 80 pages, ISBN 1-931725-10-1 - $12.00