The Benson Visitor Center dedicated part of a $73,000 grant toward the production of a documentary that highlights Historic Highway 80, featuring Benson and three other communities along its route.
“We used $53,000 of our ‘Visit Arizona Initiative’ marketing grant to commission Brett Allen, executive producer of Official Best of America, to create a 30-minute documentary about Highway 80 and tourist destinations from Benson to Douglas," said Kathy Lara of the Benson Visitor Center. “Brett is based out of Sierra Vista and has produced an amazing documentary of Highway 80’s route through Cochise County, which he recently released. He showcased tourist attractions in Benson, Tombstone, Bisbee and Douglas, including RV parks, restaurants and hotels.”
Official Best of America produces programming that highlights U.S. destinations and stories throughout the country.
The Historic Highway 80 documentary aired on KOLD and KGUN9 television stations Sunday and can be accessed through the Benson Visitor Center Facebook page or by using the following YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmWcm_5bqU.
“The grant funding that we used for the documentary also includes air time, so we chose the two Tucson television stations,” said Lara. “It will be airing on alternating weekends until the funding runs out.”
Bob Nilson, Benson Visitor Center tourism supervisor, said Allen was highly recommended for the project by Mark Schmidt of the Small Business Development Center, Cochise College.
“Official Best of America has produced over 100 half-hour travel TV documentaries in states throughout the country,” Allen said. “Some of those states include Arizona, Texas and Hawaii. I’m based out of Arizona, but we have staff members across the country.”
Starting in Benson
The documentary’s road trip starts with the Mescal Movie Set, one of Benson’s featured tourist attractions. Mark Sankey, the set’s director of media and marketing, provides a brief tour of the property and highlights some of the buildings and more prominent movies filmed on the site. Pointing to the set’s two-story general mercantile and supply building, Sankey said the structure was built by Clint Eastwood back in 1975 for "The Outlaw Josey Wales," a movie Eastwood directed and starred in. Sankey also mentioned the 1993 hit movie "Tombstone," showing the spot where the Earp brothers arrived in town and parked their wagons. "Dirty Dingus Magee," starring Frank Sinatra, and "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean," starring Paul Newman, are other movies Sankey mentions on the tour.
From the movie set, the documentary heads to the Benson Visitor Center where Lara talks about the center’s role in promoting tourism and destination spots visitors might be interested in seeing. In addition to tourist attractions, the visitor center provides travelers with maps, brochures and guides filled with information about RV parks, hotels and restaurants.
“We have over 1,500 RV spaces, so Benson is the place to park your RV because of its close proximity to Highway, 80, 90 and I-10,” Lara said.
Nilson urges visitors to stop and see the murals splashed on walls throughout Benson created by artist Doug Quarles. Guidebooks are available for $5, providing guests with a self-guided tour of the murals, most of them depicting the town’s history, wildlife and landscape. Benson’s special connection with the railroad is another highlight Nilson mentions. The town was established in 1880 when the Southern Pacific Railroad came through Benson, making it a major rail hub. Union Pacific Railroad purchased Southern Pacific in 1997 and is the rail line that goes through Benson today.
Tombstone
Tombstone is the next stop on the road tour, with the documentary showcasing a number of attractions along the way to the historic Old West town. With Tombstone Monument Ranch as the first stop, images of horses, trail riders and rugged country are some of the highlights. The old railroad bed that at one time connected Tombstone to Contention City is featured, along with one of the original bridges from the El Paso Southwestern rail line that ran from Fairbank to Tombstone back in the region’s mining heyday.
At the Tombstone Visitor Center, manager Terry Smith provides information about the town’s history, its restaurants, saloons, shops and stagecoach and trolley tours. Gunfight reenactments are part of Smith’s presentation.
The documentary shows a number of the town’s tourist attractions, including Boothill Graveyard, Rose Tree Museum and Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park with its stately Victorian-style building.
Bisbee
Known for arts, culture and mining, Bisbee is next on the list of stopping places.
Heading south from Tombstone to Bisbee, the Luten Arch Bridge, which was built in 1918, is one of the stops showcased along the Highway 80 route. The Mule Pass Tunnel, built in 1958, is another point of interest.
Heather Andrews runs the Bisbee Visitor Center.
“We love to see whoever is coming into Bisbee stop by here first,” she said. “We have a lot of maps that can show you exactly where you need to go and highlights you can see.”
Warren Ballpark, the oldest, continuously operated multi-sports facility in the United States, constructed in 1909, earned a spot on the documentary. Bisbee’s Queen Mine Tour offers five tours a day, seven days a week. The Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, located in the heart of Bisbee’s historic district, is another popular attraction. Visitors are invited to take a step back in time by wandering down Erie Street and experiencing Lowell, with its 1950s landscape.
Douglas
The road trip’s last stop is Douglas, where historian Lawana Diffie greets Nilson at the Douglas Visitor Center and talks about some of the border town’s highlights.
“Douglas became a boomtown about 1900 and has more buildings on the Arizona Historical Register than Phoenix does,” Diffie said. “We have 20 Mexican food restaurants and an additional 16 international restaurants.”
Douglas has an Art Car Museum with a wide array of uniquely decorated cars. Passionate about veterans, Douglas is on the Purple Heart Highway and constructed a memorial to the veterans for all the soldiers killed in action. The city also constructed the wall of faces in recognition of soldiers who served their country.
The town has four RV parks and mentions the Gadsden Hotel, hailed as the “Douglas Crown Jewel.”
The 30-minute documentary ends with its stop in Douglas.
“For a more detailed picture of the different towns along Highway 80, be sure to go to the YouTube link and watch the documentary,” Nilson said. “We’re extremely happy that we received the grant that allowed us to hire Brett Allen to produce the documentary on behalf of the Benson Visitor Center and other three towns.”
Allen said he was honored to be asked to do the project.
“Bob Nilson and Kathy Lara of the Benson Visitor Center decided to spend the grant money to promote all the communities along Highway 80, which reflects the true spirit of tourism in our county. When it comes to tourism and connecting with visitors, their enthusiasm is contagious.”
