Wender·Vista
Bisbee Queen Mine
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona
below the south end of Bisbee's historic downtown

Bisbee Queen Mine

— — a mountain hollowed out by lamplight.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“At the south end of Bisbee, where the Mule Mountains drop into Queen Mine Canyon, the Copper Queen ran from 1877 to 1975 — nearly a century of underground copper that built the town above it. Since 1976 a small electric mine train has carried visitors a third of a mile into the original workings, helmeted and lit, behind a retired Phelps Dodge miner guiding the tour.

from the studio
Bisbee Queen Mine
— bring it home

Bisbee Queen Mine, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Bisbee Queen Mine

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Queen Mine sits at the south end of Bisbee at about 5,300 feet in the Mule Mountains of Cochise County, with the tour portal at 478 North Dart Road just off State Route 80. The original workings extend miles into the mountain on multiple levels, though the public tour follows only a single drift a third of a mile in. The property is owned by the City of Bisbee and operated as a historic site, with mining-era equipment, ore cars, and timbering left in place underground.

— the year

Commercial copper mining at the Copper Queen began in 1877 and continued under Phelps Dodge from 1885 until 1975, when underground operations closed alongside the neighbouring Lavender Pit. Over that span the Bisbee mining district produced more than eight billion pounds of copper, three million ounces of gold, and over a hundred million ounces of silver. The City of Bisbee opened the mine for public tours in 1976, the year after closure, partly to retain mining knowledge and partly to anchor the town's pivot to heritage tourism.

— the visit

The tour leaves several times daily from the portal building on Dart Road, on the south side of State Route 80 from the historic downtown. Visitors are issued a yellow slicker, a hard hat, and a battery lamp, then ride a small electric mine train a third of a mile into the mountain. The temperature inside holds around 47 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, so a jacket helps even in summer. Tours run about an hour and a quarter and are led by retired Bisbee miners who worked the underground works.

— where
United States · Bisbee, Cochise County, Arizona
— elevation
1,615 m · 5,300 ft
— position
31.4396° N · 109.9168° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km N
Bisbee historic downtown
historic district
1 km E
Lavender Pit
open-pit mine
1 km N
Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum
museum
38 km N
Tombstone
town
N
Bisbee Queen Mine
Bisbee historic downtown
Lavender Pit
Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum
Tombstone
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Bisbee Queen Mine — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The Queen Mine is at the south end of Bisbee, Arizona, in the Mule Mountains of Cochise County. The tour portal is at 478 North Dart Road, just across State Route 80 from the historic downtown.

Commercial mining at the Copper Queen ran from 1877 to 1975, with Phelps Dodge operating it from 1885 to closure. The Bisbee district produced more than eight billion pounds of copper over that span.

Yes. Since 1976, the City of Bisbee has run guided tours that travel a third of a mile into the original workings on a small electric mine train, led by retired Bisbee miners.

The mine holds around 47 degrees Fahrenheit year-round at the tour level, so a jacket is recommended even in summer. Visitors are also issued a yellow slicker and a hard hat with lamp.

The standard underground tour runs about an hour and a quarter, including the ride in, several stops along the drift to see ore veins and timbering, and the ride back out.

The tours are operated by the City of Bisbee as a historic site and are led by retired Phelps Dodge miners who worked the underground operations before closure in 1975.

— about the piece in your home

It has been for many of our customers. The Queen Mine is one of the few American copper mines a family member can still walk into; the piece carries that lineage. A Medium reads well above a desk.

The copper and lamplight palette pairs with Industrial, Rustic, and Southwestern rooms. The warm earth tones anchor a wall built around brick, leather, raw wood, or oxidised metal fixtures.

A single Large works above a console. Above a three-seat sofa, a four-tile Mural reads in scale; for a long sectional or a wide bar wall, a nine-tile Mural holds.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist scratching and tolerate steam and splash, suitable for a backsplash, a shower niche, or a powder-room wall.

A soft microfibre cloth with water. No abrasives, no ammonia cleaners, no scouring pads. The colour lives in the ceramic surface so cleaning does not fade it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work from our Knoxville studio, hand-finished in-house. The art is not licensed from any third party and is not sold elsewhere.

— if this one stayed with you

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