Gila County Jail and Courthouse
Globe, AZ
Photo and courtesy Patrick Ryan

An enclosed bridge connects the old Gila County Jail and Courthouse in downtown Globe. Nicknamed the “Bridge of Sighs,” the elevated passage allowed sheriffs to move prisoners directly from their cells to the courtroom without taking them onto the street. Talk about a long walk to hear your fate. 11-05

The concrete jail opened in 1910 and handled Globe’s rowdy mining-era population for the next 71 years. Some of its iron cell doors and heavy locking equipment reportedly came from the old Yuma Territorial Prison. There was no heating or cooling inside, and decades of names, dates, poems, and tally marks remain scratched into the walls.

Naturally, a place like this has collected a few ghost stories. Visitors have reported footsteps, banging cell doors, cold spots, shadowy figures, and the feeling of being touched. Much of the lore centers on Kingsley Olds, a prisoner mysteriously shot through his cell window in 1911. The jail and courthouse were featured in a 2018 episode of Ghost Adventures.

UPDATE: The jail closed in 1981 but survives as a museum and visitor attraction, with paranormal tours still offered. The courthouse now houses the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts, while the old Bridge of Sighs continues to connect the two buildings. 09-26

Valley National Bank (Closed)
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70

The old Valley Valley National Bank brought some serious Art Deco style to downtown Phoenix when it opened in 1932. Officially known as the Professional Building, the 12-story tower included banking space below and medical offices on its upper floors. The name was carefully chosen during the Depression, when having the word “bank” on a building was not exactly reassuring to potential tenants. 03-06

A glass-enclosed executive penthouse was added in 1958, along with a giant three-story neon sign featuring the Valley National Bank eagle. The sign slowly rotated like a weather vane and was designed to stop turning whenever the desert winds became too strong. Movie fans may recognize both the tower and its rooftop sign from the opening skyline shot in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic Psycho.

Valley National Bank moved out in 1972, and the rotating sign was taken down that same year. The building was completely vacant by 1987 and remained boarded up for decades while various loft conversion plans came and went.

UPDATE: The old tower finally received a $40 million restoration and reopened in 2016 as the Hilton Garden Inn Phoenix Downtown. The 1958 penthouse now serves as the Floor 13 Rooftop Bar. 09-26

Old City Hall
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70

The grand Old Phoenix City Hall has occupied an entire downtown block since 1929. This was actually a two-for-one government building, with Phoenix city offices and the police department on one side and the Maricopa County courthouse and offices on the other. Even the architects shared the job, combining a Neoclassical exterior with Spanish and Art Deco touches inside. 03-06

Here is one detail that is easy to miss from the street. The fifth and sixth floors originally housed the county jail, placing the prisoners right above the city and county offices. The courthouse below hosted several headline-making cases, including the 1931 trial of Winnie Ruth Judd, better remembered as Phoenix’s infamous “Trunk Murderess.”

The building also has a major place in American legal history. Ernesto Miranda was held, questioned, and tried here after his 1963 arrest. His case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court and led to the familiar warning that begins, “You have the right to remain silent.”

UPDATE: Phoenix moved its remaining city offices out in 1994, but the building is still busy. It now contains Maricopa County Superior Court facilities, the Phoenix Police Museum, and the Maricopa County Justice Museum. 09-26

Patagonia Grammar School (Closed)
Patagonia, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70

Behind the fence in Patagonia is this sturdy old Patagonia Grammar School, built in 1914 after the town’s earlier schoolhouse burned to the ground. The brick replacement came with tall 14-foot ceilings and large banks of windows to keep air moving through the classrooms in the days before air conditioning. 03-07

Those classrooms remained in use for a full century. When the school finally closed in 2014, it was recognized as the longest continuously used elementary school building in Arizona.

There is also a curious piece of Patagonia’s rougher past inside. The museum collection includes the stump of the town’s old “Jail Tree,” where rowdy miners and other troublemakers were once chained before Patagonia had a proper jail. That probably kept a few students interested during history class.

UPDATE: The old school was restored and reopened in 2016 as the Patagonia Museum. It now houses exhibits and artifacts telling the story of the town and the surrounding ranching and mining country. 09-26

Old Nogales City Hall and Fire Station
Nogales, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70

The Old Nogales City Hall and Fire Station packed quite a bit of local government into one Mission Revival-style building. Completed in 1914, it housed the mayor’s office, volunteer fire department, and city jail all under the same roof. Around Nogales, the landmark is still commonly called Old City Hall. 04-06

The jail remained in use through the late 1970s, so generations of local lawbreakers spent a little time behind its walls. Meanwhile, firefighters and city officials went about their business in the rooms nearby. It must have been one lively municipal building during its busiest years.

UPDATE: The old civic complex survives along Grand Avenue and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It now houses the Pimería Alta Historical Society Museum, where visitors can explore the history of Nogales and the surrounding borderlands. 09-26

Security Building (Closed)
Phoenix, AZ
Photo courtesy Gorb70

The eight-story Security Building rose above downtown Phoenix in 1928 and briefly claimed the title of Arizona’s tallest building. Behind that red brick exterior is a reinforced concrete frame, while the ground-floor entrance was dressed up with marble and gold trim. A glass dome on the roof once sent out a powerful beacon that could reportedly be seen from 30 miles away. 04-06

The building also has a rather colorful Prohibition-era story. According to later accounts, its unfinished upper floors were used for a secret casino, speakeasy, and brothel while construction was underway. The illegal operation supposedly helped bring in money to finish the tower. That is certainly one way to cover a construction budget.

A ninth-floor penthouse was added in 1958 as a private residence for Valley National Bank chairman Walter Bimson. Over the years, workers have also reported elevators moving on their own, strange cold spots, and the ghostly figure of a woman wandering the offices.

UPDATE: Maricopa County acquired the Security Building in 2001 and later completed a major restoration. The tower remains standing and is used for county administrative offices. 09-26