Photo Credit: KTAR News
The Value of Preserving our
Historic Buildings and Downtowns
Greetings, and welcome to spring! We hope you enjoyed spring break and are soaking up the last of our nice weather before we blaze into summer. 

We recently added renderings of the new Roosevelt Water Conservation District headquarters to our website, This project is well under construction and moving full steam ahead, and we’re busy providing construction administration services and partnering with our friends at Concord General Contractors. 

Curious to see how things will look? Click the button below to find out more ...
" 19th & 21st Centuries Collide "
in Bisbee, Arizona at The Copper Queen Hotel
Photo Credit: MikesRoadTrip.com
Last fall, we were invited to assist Ron Peters, AIA of Historic Streetscapes and in association with Roger Brevoort of Historic Consultants, on the iconic Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona. Ron is a Mesa architect who specializes in historic architecture, and Roger is a historic tax credit consultant. Together, they helped the Copper Queen Hotel owners prepare and submit documentation to the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office to secure the appropriate tax credits. And because of this, the hotel owner is currently evaluating options in developing a long-term rehabilitation plan that will help restore the hotel back to its original design and grandeur.

So how did the “19 th & 21 st centuries collide” in Bisbee? The storied Copper Queen Hotel, one of Arizona’s historic architectural gems, dates back to 1898. It was designed by the classically trained New York architectural firm Van Vleck and Goldsmith beginning in 1898, and construction was complete by 1902. Because the architects had trained in the Beaus Arts style and travelled throughout Europe, the building design reflects their unique design aesthetic. After 1902, the building was modified over the years, but not well documented. Adaptive Architects provided 3D laser scanning of the existing building to supplement the limited original drawings that were available. The 3D scans created allowed the team to quickly document and capture existing conditions in an electronic format that can be used to create drawings for any future renovations.

The Copper Queen Hotel proudly defines Bisbee’s downtown both in 1902 and today. It was constructed by the Copper Queen Company to house important guests and investors who visited the Copper Queen Mine, and thus played a key role in establishing the town of Bisbee and the copper industry as a whole in Arizona. Clearly, our state owes a lot to this much-loved treasure from our wild-west past. 

Thank you Ron, for allowing us to assist on this important project! We're excited to hear about any transformations planned in the near future!
Photo Credit: Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures
Photo Credit: Copper Queen Hotel Website
Mesa Historic Downtown News
Photo Credit: KJZZ
The City of Mesa is helping private property owners improve their buildings as well as the historic Downtown Mesa area through a program called the Downtown Façade Improvement Program that uses CDBG funding. One of the project goals is to eliminate the existing 1980’s era canopies along the sidewalks and return the downtown character more closely to its original design. 

This effort is underway now, with Ron Peters, AIA leading the way on the remodel of the Nile Theater, a live music venue and coffee shop located at the intersection of MacDonald and Main Street - click here for a video to learn more about this cool project. Adaptive Architects helped document existing conditions at the Nile by using our 3D scanning technology to streamline the existing conditions documentation activities. Ron has three other properties under way in the downtown area, so you know these exciting efforts in Mesa will continue. Stay tuned for more updates!
History Matters in our Downtowns
Renovated Berge Building in Downtown Mesa, by Adaptive Architects
More than ever, we are embracing our downtowns and historic buildings. There’s a growing appreciation for these treasured structures and the dynamic environments they help create. And it’s a two-way street - when cities and property owners invest in our historic structures, value is returned back to our communities as we create thriving downtowns, in terms of dollars and cents. There is a real economic benefit available to a community that engages in downtown revitalization efforts, because people are drawn to and want to spend time in environments like these. It’s just a smart investment to rehabilitate and 'adaptively reuse' our historically significant buildings. 

Adaptive Architects' is honored to have participated in the Copper Queen Hotel and Mesa’s Downtown Façade Improvement Programs. We look forward to more projects like these!
Want to learn more?
Check out the video below from Tucson's KGUN Channel 9 to learn more about the Copper Queen Hotel's 117 year history and some of the potential improvements that may be implemented at Bisbee's iconic Copper Queen Hotel.
And that's about it for now . . . we'll be back for more in May.
Until then, have a great month!
Adaptive Architects | adaptivearchitectsinc.com
480.655.0633