Wender·Vista
Jerome historic streets
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona
on Cleopatra Hill, above the Verde Valley

Jerome historic streets

— a town that holds to the side of a mountain.

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

A copper town pinned to a thirty-degree slope, two hours north of Phoenix. Brick and clapboard buildings step down Cleopatra Hill in switchbacks, held in place by stone retaining walls and stubbornness. The streets are short, the corners are tight, and the view from any porch is the long green run of the Verde Valley below. — from the studio

from the studio
Jerome historic streets
— bring it home

Jerome historic streets, 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 Jerome historic streets

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

Jerome sits on the northeast flank of Cleopatra Hill in Yavapai County, perched between 5,000 and 5,500 feet on grades steep enough that one building, the old jail, slid 225 feet downhill after dynamite blasts in the 1920s. Founded in 1876 around copper claims that became the United Verde Mine, the town hit roughly 15,000 residents in the late 1920s, then emptied when the mine closed in 1953. The remaining settlement, fewer than 500 people today, was named a National Historic Landmark in 1967.

the stone

The buildings are mostly brick, adobe, and rough-cut stone, with iron-railed balconies and steep wooden stairs filling the gaps between switchbacks. Main Street and Hull Avenue terrace down the hillside in three tiers, connected by alleys cut into the slope. The 1898 Mingus Union school, the 1917 Bartlett Hotel ruin, and the 1899 Connor Hotel still anchor the upper grid. Retaining walls of locally quarried stone hold the whole town to the mountain.

the visit

Jerome is reached by State Route 89A, a switchbacked two-lane that climbs from Cottonwood in the Verde Valley and crosses Mingus Mountain toward Prescott. Most of the historic core is walkable in an afternoon, though the grade is real and the sidewalks are narrow. The Jerome State Historic Park, set in the 1916 Douglas Mansion above the open pit, opens daily and frames the town and the mine in one view.

where
United States · Yavapai County, Arizona
elevation
1,585 m · 5,200 ft
position
34.7486° N · 112.1135° 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 SE
Jerome open pit
mine site
11 km NE
Tuzigoot National Monument
Sinagua pueblo ruin
40 km NE
Sedona red rocks
red rock country
N
Jerome historic streets
Jerome open pit
Tuzigoot National Monument
Sedona red rocks
common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Jerome historic streets — and about bringing the piece home.
about the place

Jerome sits on Cleopatra Hill in Yavapai County, on State Route 89A between Cottonwood and Prescott. The town is roughly two hours north of Phoenix and twenty-five miles southwest of Sedona, at an elevation near 5,200 feet.

Jerome grew up around the United Verde copper mine on the flank of Cleopatra Hill. Buildings were stacked on the slope to stay close to the mine workings, which is why grades reach thirty degrees through the historic core.

Underground blasting at the United Verde Mine in the 1920s shifted the ground beneath the old jail, and the building slid roughly 225 feet downhill from its original foundation. It still rests below its first site today.

Jerome was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967, recognizing the surviving copper-era streetscape. Fewer than 500 people live there now, down from a peak of about 15,000 residents in the late 1920s.

Jerome is often called a ghost town because the United Verde Mine closed in 1953 and the population collapsed, but the town never fully emptied. Artists, shops, and a small year-round community keep the historic core lived-in.

about the piece in your home

It carries well for that. The tile reads the town the way locals describe it, as a hillside of brick and switchbacks rather than a postcard. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio suits the recipient.

The earth tones and ironwork read well in Southwestern, Mountain-modern, and warm Industrial rooms. It also sits comfortably in a Maximalist gallery wall alongside other Arizona pieces or copper-toned art.

Above a standard sofa, the Large covers the wall on its own. For a longer console or a larger living room wall, a four-tile Mural reads as one composition. A nine-tile Mural anchors a full feature wall.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for vertical installations near steam or splash. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall pieces in drier rooms.

A microfibre cloth and plain water handle ordinary dust and fingerprints. For a kitchen or bathroom install, the same cloth and a mild non-abrasive cleaner are enough; the colour lives in the surface and will not lift.

Yes. The Jerome piece is part of Reid Wender's Arizona series, made and hand-finished by a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no outside licensing and no other manufacturer carries this work.

if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.