Visiting Historic Lowell, Arizona

Lowell, Arizona was incorporated into the city of Bisbee in the early 1900s, and most of the town was destroyed when the Lavender Pit Mine was expanded in the 1950s. Luckily, a small section of Erie Street remains, and that section looks like it came right out of the 1950s. Maintained by the Lowell Americana Project, Erie Street is a fantastic stop on Highway 80 in Arizona. The street is filled with recreated storefronts and classic cars. And if you happen to be there when no other people are around, it is a lot like being in a 1950s sci-fi movie where the rest of the people on earth have disappeared. Lowell is a great place to stop while traveling Highway 80 through Arizona or visiting Bisbee.
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[@michaelfisher7170]

I was born in Bisbee and lived my first seven years there. Went back frequently to visit grandparents until their deaths. Have a few cousins still left there. But most of my extended family now resides in Evergreen cemetery. Thanks for the visit to Lowell!

[@OpieDogie]

My grandfather lived in Lowel in the teens of the 20th century. He worked at the Copper Queen. I have been down there many times and always enjoy the great treasures in the area. Great vids keep em coming

[@IndridCool54]

Another cool and interesting video. My family lived in Bisbee in the mid fifties. My youngest brother was born at the Copper Queen Hospital in the summer of 1957. We used to travel from Tucson to San Diego on old Highway 80 before the days of I-8. I love your videos! Thanks!

[@1949rangerrick]

We’ve had meals several times at the Bisbee Breakfast Club. Great food reasonable prices. Viewing the pit is amazing. The whole Bisbee area is well worth the trip.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Yes, we love visiting Bisbee. Such a fun area.

[@tagon]

Truly enjoy your videos! You're doing a great job finding and sharing these gems with everyone. Also, your voice-over and filming is on point as well! Excited to follow!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Wow, thank you!

[@davidelack8809]

There is a Bisbee Breakfast club a couple miles from my home in Mesa also. Same owner .Guadalupe and Dobson Rds SE corner. great food

[@Corgis175]

Would love to step back into the 1950's.

[@user-wy1dl2me2p]

Yes me too . This day and age is pathetic.

[@jjarm]

Your site having just recently found me, and after checking out several of your offerings I can honestly say that this has been awesome! You personally have great cadence, a very easy listening voice, and the subject matter is extremely interesting. Even the subtle undercurrent music is spot on with your narration......but what do I know!? I spent a few years living in the San Diego and Lake Havasu City areas a couple decades ago so there is some connection. Very well done and keep it coming 😄

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you!

[@mercedithcompala8148]

These trips of yours are great.. Thanks again ❤

[@JH_75]

Visited Lowell and Bisbee last week and had a great time, stayed at the Bisbee Grand Hotel and left with some great stories. Only this morning did I realize that you had done a video on Lowell and I had already watched it but forgotten! Great video Steve!

[@EmilioExploring]

I love that intro shot with the UFO!

[@Porsche996driver]

Great work brother - off the beaten track for sho! 💯

[@xstanadu]

Very cool ~ thx for sharing this little visit back in time in Lowell ~ I live in ARIZONA and I have grown to love all the old history SO this is def on my list to go see along w/ Bissbee ! Thx for this very cool “ to the point “ video ! Much appreciate . Safe travels 🚙

[@c.keefer332]

This is so cool!!! Very well done!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you so much!

[@dwight7651]

my current home is very close .... it's definitely cool history..... thx for doing an episode on it

[@chuniquepaceno470]

I've been to Bisbee a couple of times but wasn't aware of this little jewel, thanks, Steve...love your work. I have a particular soft spot for Highway 80 as it's the roadway that my family took most of the way from Florida to Tucson, AZ in 1963...though it branches off before we would have passed Bisbee, so no old memories from this portion of it.

[@sierrachoco5271]

Really enjoy your videos!

[@SteelKokopelli]

In the sixties and early seventies, my mother would take me on Greyhound bus trips to New Mexico. And it was in that ScenicCruiser style of bus where my seat I insisted on was the one behind that upper windshield.

[@sorrowfulsatchel679]

I first heard about this place in episode one of the motortrend show Roadkill, glad to see that they’re still around and that they haven’t given themselves up to the mining company!

[@SigmaSheepdog]

Great video! I have been to Bisbee a number of times and I cannot believe that I missed Lowell. Well, there will be a motorcycle road trip coming up soon! I live about 150 miles away.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

It is definitely worth a stop. Have a great trip!

[@paulwoodman5131]

Been in Bisbee several times, dad's Army buddy worked the mine and his son was in the police department, but we never visited Lowell.

[@lowellhiles2456]

cool video!!! as someone named lowell, i am aware of many of the cities with my name, but i was unaware of this one. i will definitely check it out. THANKS!!

[@skyflora2183]

I love your videos, they make me feel like im really there! Great work!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you very much!

[@robbergstrom943]

Stopping at several stops you recommended on Route 66, Gila Bend, and Lowell this holiday. Thanks for the great guides and Happy Holidays.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you. That makes me really happy that these helped you. Hope you have a great trip.

[@mawi1172]

Luv ur stuff! ❤️❤️❤️

[@ElwoodAndersonNV]

Wow! That's the closest thing to time travel that I ever experienced. Keep up the good work.

[@drmarkadufrene8153]

That is amazing, I would love to go there.

[@beowoofthemoviestar]

Very enjoyable glimpse into the past with excellent commentary and narrative voice.

[@Mermaidsleavenotrace]

OMG THANKS MAN LOVE IT!!

[@BenWilson24]

Love the channel! It's giving me all kinds of ideas for day trips. If you ever get the chance, I'd love to see an episode on the WWII internment camps in Arizona if you are able to access them. I live not too far from one of them and I know there is a monument out there, but it's on a reservation. I haven't gone exploring out there because I don't want to be disrespectful to the people on the reservation if they don't want random people roaming around

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I visited the one at Poston not too long ago. There was a monument and a few buildings that were being reused but nothing else.

[@BenWilson24]

@@SidetrackAdventures good to know! Maybe I will make my way out to that one

[@jameslyons1624]

What a cool Old Town

[@scotthatlestad2548]

We are headed to Bisbee this weekend. Great timing! We will be sure to stop by Lowell.

[@alternatesportshistory3605]

By coincidence I was just in Lowell yesterday. In your video there's a sign for "POOL--Snooker, Joker Pool, Libations". From what I can tell this is the only mention of "joker pool" anywhere...I assume it's an old name for 8-ball, as solids and stripes used to be called "suits", so the eight ball would be a "joker ball" not belonging to either suit. The mention of snooker is really interesting as there were very few places to play that in the southwest. The owner of the antique store claims that at least one of the old tables is in a basement in town. I've been trying to talk my way into that basement to see the table, but I haven't talked to the right person yet!

[@johnnyfreedom3437]

My parents started their married life in one of those old trailers! Drove all over the country with that thing. We copied that route once us kids came along! Now even their great-grandchildren love camping!

[@omart8073]

Awesome video.

[@tedbaxter5234]

Thank you for this!

[@lorenzell3104]

The Bisbee breakfast club is excellent and restored inside too. Don't skip. Bisbee copper mine tour is cool also, especially on a hot day.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

It looked good, but unfortunately we had already eaten. Definitely plan on getting breakfast there on our next trip through.

[@favsa5015]

went there back n 2007, stayed at copper queen hotel n Bisbee as well. cool area

[@itsmeagain.1212]

Great video.

[@davidelack8809]

One of my favorite places in Arizona, Thx for making a video,now I don't have to!

[@lydiahaydel1528]

Reminds me of Jefferson,Texas. Nice old hotel in Jefferson .

[@maximenglish4047]

wow it's so amazing idk what was places in the past

[@jimweed7269]

My dad grew up in Bisbee during the late 1920s thru 1930s. I had a chance to visit it in the mid 1970s when my grandfather moved back. My dad indicated that not much had changed since he had been there. And there were a few people who my grandfather knew from that time who still lived in the town. It was fun listening to my dad telling us about the different parts of town and some of the high jinks he got into growing up there as a teenager. Also I thought it was interesting being told by a current resident that some of the streets going up from the bottom of the canyon where the main street is to houses up the hill were almost to narrow to get modern fire trucks up. This meant that sometimes the houses were fully engulfed by the trucks got there. I'm hoping to go back in the near future to see what its like today

[@roseshimanek1678]

Lip.

[@pavba7033]

Ôi

[@michaelberger8137]

They should turn this place into a state park. Put exhibits inside the buildings and allow people to do their own self-guided tours. They could have living history docents, a gift shop and perhaps a couple of watering holes. A picnic area at the lavender rim with viewing points and Interpretive signage. Hiking trails too.

[@diannemc4840]

I’ve been there. It’s a really cool little town. We live in Az. I would love to see it again.

[@purppassn68]

@E Falke ro k wp .

[@hachau9138]

.

[@raymondmichielini6021]

great content in this video

[@cynthiaescobedo7559]

K Y n Un I No

[@user-wy1dl2me2p]

Lowell sounds like a cool town kinda like Ely Nevada. They have car shows in the middle of nowhere.

[@deniseaz26]

Bisbee is my hometown!!!

[@jimfloyd4563]

Did you get breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club? FYI, south of Lowell is the town of Warren which has a great old baseball park built in 1909.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

We didn't eat there on this visit but have eaten there since. I've wanted to see vintage baseball game there but always miss it.

[@AlanShirtsink]

Bisbee area is one of my favorite places in America

[@malcolmmoodie6512]

Wow , nice

[@1custom1234]

Jay Allen who owns the Broken Spoke saloon in Sturgis, lives in Lowell and owns some of those old buildings.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

That explains all the Broken Spoke references on the cars! Thanks for that info.

[@pablol5472]

Most informative and helpfull, thank you. I get the impression Eire street is still a public street freely accesible 24/7. I would assume, however, you are not allowed to drive through or park your modern car.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

You can drive down the street with no problems. There are a couple parking lots at the end of the street available to park in.

[@faithford9143]

They need to do something like this project in Gary Indiana.

[@KB4QAA]

FF: Good luck starting the copper mine! :)

[@faithford9143]

@@KB4QAA Lol

[@jondonahue7163]

I live in Tombstone. We've started the Arizona 80 Foundation to promote historic tourism up and down old US 80, here in Cochuse County. Your video us excellent! And I will link to it from our Arizona80.org website. Last time I was in Lowell, an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile parked there -- OMG.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Awesome, thank you. We love traveling Highway 80, as you can probably tell!

[@billofrightsamend4]

I wonder if they filmed part of "Stand By Me" there. It looks a lot like the scene where the bully takes his baseball hat.

[@oobihdahboobeeboppah]

My father managed a chain of theaters and drive-ins in and around Pinal County during the late 40's, 50's and the early 60's. Ray, AZ is another town that was turned into an open pit mine by Magma or Phelps Dodge (so long ago...). If he were still around he could fill in lots of the details about the area.

[@pazzazz1]

We have stayed at the Shady Dell. Worth the trip. Do you know if the little restaurant is operating that is at the front?

[@SidetrackAdventures]

It was open for breakfast at the least.

[@HigherHills]

That’s Dot’s Diner, & they are open for b’fast & lunch - good eats!

[@rachellejohnson9259]

B P.b.v

[@rachellejohnson9259]

B P.b.v

[@alanhelton]

Good ol fort We got cha (Huachuca)

[@robertlyman9789]

3rd gen native, never heard of Lowell?

[@rickrowell8465]

Eat breakfast at the BBC! It's been a few years since I was there, but the food and service was AWESOME! On the weekends, get there early or you'll be standing in line for awhile.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

We filmed this on a Sunday and there was a long wait.

[@shirleymorales3161]

From Bisbee Lowell is still part of Bisbee 💙

[@guowang6524]

“Lol police department”

[@neonpick9340]

Wanda stays there🤞🏼

[@user-eq7or5kh2p]

Can anybody come and set up house in Lowell Arizona

[@SomeplaceOrAnother]

One of these days I need to see Lowell in person 😁

[@leynermendoza1456]

They should do more of this. I can see them making $$ off it.

[@tonitabasco390]

4:42 have you been to Cuba

[@totocall1999]

Oh. No! The coop grocery store closed??!!?!

[@emilkarpo]

Up the road from Lowell to uptown Bisbee was the entirely vanished town of Jiggerville. My family moved to Bisbee in 1964, luckiest thing that ever happened to me.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Will have to look into that. Thanks.

[@julie445burden2]

I usually give in Bisbee 11 best people I'm not even kidding I live in Bisbee Arizona I know where you are able

[@joe.oberheim]

I was there in 2019. Good place to eat there at the top of the street.

[@eutimiochavez415]

Who own the city

[@billycarmack9287]

55418h

[@gracesiwa6600]

Yo yo

[@jesslvrde6027]

We’re are the racist signs ? Needs to be historically

[@skozoticschi]

Super dumb they staged the feeling and f being abandoned…. What a scam

[@ThePanred]

American history is soooo boring lmao 🤣

[@trollingizlife2298]

*WHITE American history is boring

[@reapingghost4235]

Awesome