Gila River Reading Room

Gila River Reading Room occupies a former assay office in downtown Globe, where copper miners once brought ore samples for evaluation and now book lovers come seeking literary treasure. Founded in 2000 by a retired mining engineer and amateur historian, the store is a repository of Arizona mining history that would be the envy of many university libraries. First-edition accounts of the Globe-Miami mining district, historical photographs of the Old Dominion Mine, and scholarly works on copper extraction sit alongside well-loved Western paperbacks and general fiction. The building itself is part of the experience, with original brick walls, a vintage safe that now displays rare books, and a hand-painted sign that dates to the assay office era. In a town where the economy has shifted away from mining, the Reading Room serves as a reminder of Globe's rich past and a gathering place for the community's present, hosting local history talks and book swaps that draw readers from across Gila County.