Miami

An Arizona native told me recently that when he was growing up he thought Globe-Miami was the name of  a single town because they were always linked in weather forecasts. Miami is a little sister  to Globe. Both towns share the challenges that have come with the decline of copper mining in the region. 

That explains a lot about Miami's business district, which has a wealth of historic buildings but few merchants.  Too many buildings are boarded up and begging for renovation. That includes the two-story Traveler's Hotel  (below left) on Sullivan Street that backs up to Bloody Tanks Wash. 

The red and blue building (below right) was a Miami firehouse and later a hotel. Colorful downtown buildings have brightened up what would otherwise be a black and white historic district. 

The Bullion Plaza Cultural Center & Museum, 150 N. Plaza Circle, tells the stories of the Miami's mining history. It's open Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.

Another bright spot  in Miami is the Copper Miner's Rest bed and breakfast on Chisolm Avenue. It was the Soderman Building constructed from 1917-21 to replace a 1910 frame building, according to reports. The Sodermans operated operated a rooming house and the Wasa Bar, named for a region in their native Finland.   Naturally, it included a Finnish sauna that was in use until 1950. The Soderman Building has been a B&B for a decade. 

Founded: 1907
Elevation: 3,411
Population: 1,774

This bed and breakfast inn on Chisolm Avenue operates in a building that housed the Wasa Bar and a rooming house a century ago.

The boarded up Travelers Hotel along Sullivan Street.

The view down Keystone Avenue to a red building that once was a firehouse.

Bullion Plaza School, built in 1923 for $125,000, was designed by noted Southwestern architect Henry C. Trost. It's now a museum.

A mid-1970s Chevrolet Nova is parked along Inspiration Avenue in a view looking north to some of Miami's hillside homes.