El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Passenger Depot, Douglas Arizona
- Categories:
- Arizona
- Beaux-Arts
- Railroad Facility
- Passenger Station
Following the establishment of a nascent railway system in the Arizona Territory in the late 1870's and the 1880's, mineral industries within the territory flourished beyond all-expectations. Of particular importance was the mining of copper which increased rapidly over a relatively short period of time. Mining activity in Arizona, first begun on a small scale in the 1850's, grew enormously in the 1870's due to the discovery of large deposits of copper in the Jerome, Bisbee, Globe, and Morenci districts. The Copper Queen mine in Bisbee, located in the southeastern corner of the territory, became one of the richest producers and yielded over one hundred million dollars worth of ore.
In 1885 Phelps-Dodge Corporation, one of the leading copper producers in the world today, acquired the Copper Queen upon the recommendation of Dr. James B. Douglas, a metallurgist and mining engineer associated with the company. This purchase, combined with the purchase by Phelps-Dodge of a second copper mine at Nacozari in the northern Mexican state of Sonora in 1896 and the promise of continued high yields at both locations, provided the economic context for the establishment of Douglas, Arizona Territory, in 1900. The company named the town in honor of Dr. Douglas.
The Phelps-Dodge Company established the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad to provide economic transportation for the company's expanding mining operations in southeastern Arizona. Phelps-Dodge, suffering from exploitation at the hands of the Southern Pacific, which controlled most rail routes, needed to find an alternative to the high rates charged by that railroad monopoly. Executives of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company, in which Phelps-Dodge Company held majority interest, financed the purchase of the new railroad, the Arizona and Southeastern, in 1889. The mining company decided to absorb smaller mining lines which had been in existence for years and combine these with the construction of new track to form a viable alternative railroad. The long-term goals of Dr. Douglas to build a larger railroad were revealed after a stockholders meeting in New York during 1901 when the name of the Arizona and Southeastern was changed to the El Paso and Southwestern (E.P.S.W.). By 1902 the completed network ran from Benson to Douglas, Arizona, passing through the mining town of Bisbee, and from Douglas through Animas and Deming, New Mexico, to the eastern terminus at El Paso, Texas.
The plan succeeded. Supported by a prosperous economy and rising copper prices, officials decided to expand the line westward from Benson to Tucson. This expansion exemplified the railroad's commitment to serving passenger and shipping needs in the Southwest. The railroad exerted a determined effort to ensure that its facilities would be both competitive and attractive. In 1912 residents of Tucson and Clifton saw the completion of depots in their towns, but it would not be until the late summer of 1913 that the showpiece of the line, the Douglas Depot, received its finishing touches. On Sunday, August 24th, 1913, Superintendent F.B. King gave the orders which sent train no. 6, the eastbound mail train from Benson, over the tracks to the new station. The Depot cost a total of $75,000 to construct, quite a sum in those days, and was paid for entirely by cash from mining profits; no loans or bonds were used as financing.
During the next few decades, the Douglas Depot became the focal point for passenger traffic along the southern border of the state. During hostilities generated by the Mexican Revolution and World War I, the depot headquartered troops who protected the area. The prosperity of Douglas, caused by the success of the mining companies, meant that a steady flow of important executives and officials passed through the depot. At the start of the long, hot, summer months, the families of the well-to-do "Four Hundred" would board trains for their excursions to California or the Midwest. The depot served the working class as well. Daily passenger service, called "milk runs" or "the drummer's special," gave the public easy access between Douglas and the rest of the state.
The railroad had a tremendous impact on the way Douglas developed. Although eighty-four percent of the freight tonnage consisted of mining products, the line also carried cattle from the many large ranches in the San Pedro Valley to markets both east and west. The connection with the town of E1 Paso strongly influenced the appearance of both Douglas and Bisbee. El Paso building materials arrived at low company-subsidized freight rates, and local Douglas developers hired El Paso architects and contractors, such as the well-known southwestern architect, Henry A. Trost, to work on their larger projects.
The Southern Pacific purchased the E.P.S.W. in 1924 and gradually created a less advantageous freight rate structure for the town. Between 1925 and 1950, the Southern Pacific abandoned and removed large portions of the E.P.S.W. The real blow came during the 1930's when low copper prices and economic depression, combined with the construction of an interstate highway to El Paso in 1936, caused the railroad to become a less important transportation facility. The Douglas Depot no longer functioned as the center of a great rail network. However, it did continue to serve the needs for which it was constructed. In World War II, the Depot was a major stopping point on the Southern Pacific lines for troop trains crossing the United States, and Douglas residents helped out by working in a canteen set up in the building to feed the soldiers. But after the war ended, passenger service declined and the depot saw little use. The City of Douglas acquired the depot from the Southern Pacific on October 24th, 1985.
The Neo Classic, Beaux Arts design used in its construction presented a significant statement about the importance of the railroad and the depot. Rather than use the regional Mission Revival style, company officials chose the Neo Classic, Beaux Arts style to convey a sense of strength.
The Douglas Depot functioned as the flagship station of the line, larger and more magnificent than the similar Tucson Depot. These two structures are the finest examples of Neo Classic style railroad buildings within the state. Constructed just after Arizona's achievement of statehood in 1912, the Douglas Depot represents the utilization of the Neo Classic style for prominent public buildings in an attempt to relate the state to a prevailing national imagery.
Locally, the depot is the major example of high style Neo Classic, Beaux Arts design. Situated prominently at the end of the commercial district, it provides major visual importance to the city. Douglas contains numerous commercial buildings designed in the Neo Classic style that were built during the period from 1915 to 1920. The origin of these buildings may have been influenced by the architectural style of the depot.
The architect for the depot is unknown. It is known that the plans for the building were drawn up in the El Paso office of the railroad and sent to New York for approval. The drawings are dated July 29th, 1912 and are signed by J.J. Campbell, Engineer Maintenance of Way. Presumably, a company architect drafted the plans. Direct discussion concerning the Tucson Depot indicates a conscious choice between the Neo Classic and the Mission styles. In this case, railroad officials chose the Neo Classic due to a desire to have more of a national image rather than utilize the regional Mission design. The use of the Neo Classic is a conscious decision to shift away from regional trends. This choice was reportedly influenced by Mrs. Walter Douglas, whose husband was largely responsible for the construction of the railroad. Walter Douglas, son of Dr. James Douglas and brother to James S. Douglas, figured prominently in the activities of the railroad and Phelps-Dodge.
It is clear that Mrs. Douglas had an impact on the choice of the landscape architect for both depots in Tucson and Douglas. Accustomed to spending her winters in Santa Barbara, California, Mrs. Douglas played an instrumental part in bringing an Italian landscape architect from that city to Arizona. Cammillo Fenzi Francheschi spent six months in the state working on the landscaping of the Tucson and Douglas Depots.
The establishment of Douglas as a commercial and transportation center is a direct consequence of the location of the Phelps-Dodge mines. Dr. James Douglas intended to construct a rail line to connect Phelps-Dodge mines at Bisbee in Arizona and at Nacozari in the Mexican state of Sonora. A location roughly between the two mines, along the international border on the U.S. side in the Sulphur Springs Valley, passed several selection criteria: Water was sufficient, the border location facilitated receiving ore shipments from Mexico, and it was downgrade from mines in both Bisbee and Nacozari which made shipping the heavy ore easier. For similar reasons, the Calumet and Arizona Mining Company, owner of the highly successful "Irish Mag" mine in Bisbee, decided to build a smelter in the same location and brought it into production ahead of the Phelps-Dodge Copper Queen smelter.
After the two smelter locations were laid out, mining officials incorporated two separate land development companies which, after some initial fighting over procedure, decided to combine forces to build the town of Douglas on a regular grid plan. In February, 1901, townsite lots began selling for between $25 and $250. In 1901 the railroad arrived, and the first depot was constructed at the site of the present YMCA building on Railroad Avenue. By April, 1902, the land development companies completed business of over $750,000.
Though Douglas is associated strongly with the commercial development of the mining industry, it was not strictly a company town. Several corporations built, operated, and maintained offices and factories in the city. These corporations, as well as the mining industry, depended on the railroad to Provide transportation for both freight and passengers. To care for its employees and their families, the E.P.S.W. erected a YMCA to provide recreational opportunities. This beautiful Mission Revival style building, designed by Thomas C. Link of St. Louis and constructed by Stewart and Crawford of El Paso, was constructed in 1904 at a cost of $30,000.
The greatest growth in Douglas occurred between its founding in 1901 and 1930. During this period, an extensive downtown commercial district and residential area developed. These merchants and residents relied on the railroad for supplies. In 1912, when the Territory of Arizona became the 48th state, Cochise County had the largest population in the entire state, and the town of Douglas was the largest city. The value of metals produced in Cochise County that year topped $26,500,000. In 1913 the population of Douglas was listed as 13,672. Douglas was the gateway to two republics, the United States and Mexico, and served as clearing house and commercial center for trade between the two nations.
It is not surprising then that when the E.P.S.W. decided to upgrade their facilities during their expansion at the time of Arizona's statehood, they would choose the town of Douglas as their showcase. The town was at the peak of a boom which lasted until just after the end of World War I. As the commercial and transportation center for large regions in two countries, the town was a logical choice for a monumental facility. The directors of the E.P.S.W. were making a statement about Arizona's statehood and about the role of their railroad in the commerce and transportation of the new state.
The peak of population in Douglas came in 1917 when 17,875 people lived there. In 1918 the Copper Queen smelter employed 1,600 men, the Calumet and Arizona smelter employed 700, and the El Paso and Southwestern railroad 600. The boom continued through the end of World War I, but by 1920 a recession hit the economy and both smelters closed for nine months in 1921. The copper industry did see an upturn in the later part of the 1920's due to the strong speculative economy of the period, but the crash of 1929 brought this to an end.
At the midpoint of the 1920's, Phelps-Dodge sold the El Paso and Southwestern to the Southern Pacific, partially due to cash-flow problems and a reduction in freight and passenger traffic. The depression of the 1930's ensured that the Depot would never see the significant role it once had in the commerce and transportation of Arizona during the first two decades of its history. Despite peaks of activity during World War II, the 1950's, and the 1960's, the Douglas Depot is now a monument not to the commercial and transportation potential of Douglas, but to its past.
Building Description
The El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Depot is a large, two-story, brick, Neo Classic, Beaux Arts style building constructed in 1913 as a major station on the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad route. It is located in Douglas, Arizona, a city situated in the extreme southeast corner of the state adjacent to the Mexican border. The building site is on the east side of the north-south railroad alignment, with the Douglas Commercial Historic District located one-quarter mile to the south and east. The building sits on a 3.2331 acre parcel, surrounded by historic period landscape elements which include two concrete fountains, plantings, a taxi stand, and a concrete wall.
The central, two-story portion of the depot measures 59' x 112', while the porticos at each end of the building measure 52' x 57'. Thus the total dimensions of the first story are 52' x 225'. The building rests on a solid concrete foundation, and the interior floors are polished concrete. The walls of the structure consist of brick and terra cotta. The roof trusses of the main structure are made of steel, while the portico roofs are concrete covered with poured asphalt. The roof on the main structure is a truncated hip-type covered with clay tiles, which surrounds a flat tin plate section in the center of the building.
This structure is architecturally unusual and significant because of its Beaux Arts style, designed with a large rectilinear mass in the center and smaller open porticos attached to each end of the building. An attic story completes the main portico, while parquet roofs top the porticos. The whole is symmetrical in appearance,-.and the depot's design is of colossal order because the two stories are meant to appear as one, stressing the monumentality of the structure. The recessed main entrances on both sides of the structure are accented with four Tuscan columns extending the entire two stories. A large, flat covered porch projects from each recessed entry point on the first floor level. On either side of the central entries are floor to ceiling windows, trimmed in terra cotta, that create a unified, pleasing ground to roofline appearance.
Crowning the second story is an entablature topped by an extension of the brick facade which leads to the roof. The truncated hip-type roof blends into a flat, rectangular, central portion that is occupied by a large hemispherical dome. This dome consists of a stained glass inner panel covered by a plaster and lath protective shell.
The porticos exhibit a simpler design, being almost square. These covered porticos are attached to each end of the large building. Each portico's wall consists of a simple three-arch arcade, thus giving each portico nine arches, each of which is a simple elliptical arch with a keystone. Pilasters that run through an entablature and culminate in a capped parapet divide the arches. The entire structure is finished in a high quality beige brick, and the clay roof tiles are a typical mission tile red.
The interior of the building is two stories high with wooden steps leading to the upper floors. Construction is mainly concrete plaster walls with concrete floors. The center of the building is graced by a three-story rotunda with ornate stained glass at the top. On the second floor is a circular balcony that overlooks the main floor lobby and provides a beautiful view of the stained glass ceiling.
There are many side rooms on all the floors with many exterior windows that provide a panoramic view of the building grounds and the surrounding area. In addition, french style doors lead from the second floor onto balconies on the north and south sides of the building.
The only major modifications have been the infilling of the portico arches on the west end of the building. One of these arches, the westernmost, has been squared-off and a garage door installed. The interior shows some deterioration of paint, plaster, and tile caused by neglect. One panel of the stained glass skylight is missing and has been replaced by standard window glass. A free-standing, microwave communications tower, erected to the west side of the building, intrudes on the historic setting. The once carefully landscaped grounds also show signs of neglect. The two fountains are no longer working and many plants have died. However, the two fountains are still in good condition, as are the taxi stand and concrete wall.
Eastern elevation of Depot, landscaping surrounding building, smokestacks of Douglas smelter visible behind building to west (1980)
East elevation showing filled-in arch alteration on south end (1980)
South elevation of Depot, 12 foot tall concrete fountain in foreground, railroad tracks to west (1980)
Interior view of circular skylight showing stained glass in wedge-shaped pattern atop central rotunda (1980)
