Yesterday we left early in the morning and headed for the town of Jerome Jerome was a mining town built on the side of a mountain, once a thriving town by 1939 it was the third largest city in Arizona After the mines closed in the early 1950s the population dwindled to 50 residents. In the 1960’s the town was discovered by the hippies who established an art colony.Today it is a tourist town with art galleries, restaurants and interesting shops.
We wanted to go to Jerome State Park to see the mansion, built by James Douglas, that is now the headquarters of the park. The park wasn’t open for some unknown reason, but we were able to see some of the artifacts from the mine.
The top of the mine shaft was glassed over
The shaft went down 1900 feet
The Little Daisy Hotel was built to house the miners, it is now a private residence
The Grand Hotel was once an insane asylum
Because Jerome is on the side of a mountain there are staircases between the streets.
the House of Joy was a brothel, then an award winning restaurant,now a shop.
One of the really neat shops was called Nellie Blys it was filled with beautiful expensive kaleidoscopes. The lady working there showed me how to take pictures of the beautiful designs.
We really enjoyed wandering around Jerome, looking at all the old buildings, I liked this store.
If we get a chance we will go back again before we leave this area, we would like to see the State Park.
Jean
My first encounter with Jerome was driving the Motor Home through the narrow streets. Not good!! We did go back days later and walked around the streets looking at things. A quaint little place with lots of mining history and I especially liked all the old roads and buildings in town and how everything was built on the side of a mountain. Very scenic.
ReplyDeletegreat shots of the kalediscopes!!..and the town of Jerome!!..funny how the old buildings all use to be something else!!..an insane asylum?..now I wonder if the walls can talk?
ReplyDeleteDid you by any chance go to the King Mine on the outskirts of Jerome? A gentleman has collected about 3.5 million dollars worth of scrap; pickups; trucks; restored some buildings; has a gift shop and a steam engine saw mill. He is a very interesting, intriguing individual. Bev and Jim
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