Wender·Vista
Jerome open pit
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona
below the town, on the south face of Cleopatra Hill

Jerome open pit

— — a hole the size of a small valley.

— 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

“The United Verde open pit sits just below the town, a terraced bowl carved out of Cleopatra Hill where one of the richest copper mines in the country ran for seventy-seven years. The benches step down in red and grey-green rings. From the Douglas Mansion above, the whole pit and the Verde Valley beyond read as one long view. — from the studio

from the studio
Jerome open pit
— bring it home

Jerome open pit, 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 open pit

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 pit is the surface scar of the United Verde Mine, worked from 1883 and converted from underground to open-pit operation in 1918 under James Douglas Jr. of Phelps Dodge. Over its working life the mine produced more than one billion dollars in copper, gold, and silver at then-prices, making it one of the largest copper producers in the United States. Phelps Dodge bought the property in 1935 and closed it in 1953. The terraced pit sits just south of the Jerome historic district on Cleopatra Hill.

— the stone

The pit walls show the geology that made Jerome rich: a massive sulphide deposit set in Precambrian volcanic rock roughly 1.7 billion years old. The benches read as bands of rust-red iron oxide, copper-stained greens, and pale grey ash-flow tuff. Tailings piles slope down the south face below the pit. The 1916 Douglas Mansion, now the Jerome State Historic Park visitor center, sits on the rim and frames the pit from above.

— the visit

The pit is best seen from the grounds of Jerome State Historic Park, reached by a short signed road south of the historic district off State Route 89A. The park, set in the 1916 Douglas Mansion, opens daily and houses the original three-dimensional mine model and a viewing terrace over the pit. The pit itself is private property and is not entered; the rim view from the park is the public vantage.

— where
United States · Yavapai County, Arizona
— within
Jerome State Historic Park
— elevation
1,524 m · 5,000 ft
— position
34.7456° N · 112.1156° 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 NW
Jerome historic streets
historic district
10 km NE
Tuzigoot National Monument
Sinagua pueblo ruin
12 km SW
Mingus Mountain
mountain pass
N
Jerome open pit
Jerome historic streets
Tuzigoot National Monument
Mingus Mountain
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Jerome open pit — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The United Verde was a copper mine on Cleopatra Hill at Jerome, Arizona, worked from 1883 to 1953. It produced over one billion dollars in copper, gold, and silver at the prices of its time, making it one of the largest copper producers in the United States.

Underground mining shifted to open-pit operation in 1918 under James Douglas Jr., after a major underground fire and the discovery that the orebody extended close to the surface. Phelps Dodge later bought the property in 1935 and closed the mine in 1953.

The pit is private property and is not entered by the public. The standard vantage is the rim terrace at Jerome State Historic Park, set in the 1916 Douglas Mansion above the pit, which is open daily for a state-park admission.

The walls cut through Precambrian volcanic rock roughly 1.7 billion years old, with the copper hosted in a massive sulphide deposit. Visible bands include rust-red iron oxide, copper-stained greens, and pale grey ash-flow tuff.

Across its working life the United Verde and the neighbouring United Verde Extension produced more than one billion dollars in copper, gold, and silver at the prices of their day. The two mines together built and emptied the town of Jerome.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for that. The piece reads the pit the way it actually sits, terraced and stained in copper greens and iron reds. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio suits a recipient with Verde Valley roots.

The earth-bound palette of rust, oxidised copper, and grey works in Industrial, Mountain-modern, and Southwestern rooms. It also pairs well in a Maximalist arrangement with other Arizona landscape pieces.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large covers the wall on its own. For a longer console or a wider living room wall, a four-tile Mural reads as one composition. A nine-tile Mural fills a 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. For kitchen or bathroom installs, the same cloth with a mild non-abrasive cleaner is enough. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and will not lift.

Yes. The Jerome open-pit 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

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