Cody's Jerome Arizona Studio/Gallery

Cody's Studio is located within the Merchants Gathering, 300 Hull Ave. in Jerome Arizona. Cody can be found painting in the studio three to four days a week on average, usually Wednesday through Saturday. The Studio usually open every day except Tuesdays.

The Merchants Gathering is located in uptown Jerome, next to the Visitors Center. It's easy to find, just look for the old gas pump in front of the building.

If you want to know if Cody is at the Studio today, or will be during your visit, call or email to inquire. Cody 928-300-4576 cody@codydelong.com

Cody DeLong in the doorway of his Jerome Arizona Studio and Gallery

Cody DeLong Studio and Gallery in Jerome Arizona at the magic light hour

Exterior shot of Cody DeLong Studio in Jerome Arizona

The History of the Building:

It was built in 1905 by the Dicus family as the area Studebaker and Marmon dealership. The building is 12 inch poured concrete including the roof. Slag from the mine was used as aggregate for the cement. Built into the walls are tubes about 8 inches square. They run from the lower floor (just below floor level) to the upper floor (just above floor level) and provide the building with a natural air circulation and cooling. The upper floor was the showroom and offices. The lower floor was maintenance and repair. The building was lighted by natural gas lights. When Northland Proprties Inc. took over the building, it was restored to as close to original as possible and is on the National Historic Building Registry. The gas lights remained in the building and were fully functional until the last renovation of the upper floor in 2008, when building, fire and safety regulations required their removal.

In the back of the building, under the slab that is there now, was an oil change pit. Large mining trucks could drive over the pit and the mechanics could stand beneath the vehicles to do their work. When Northland Properties took over the building in 1974 a portion of the pit had caved into one of the mine shafts that honeycomb the entire underground of Jerome. A total of 47 crushed cars and trucks, along with tons of compacted dirt, was required to fill the cavity to create a firm stable foundation for the slab that now covers the area.

The upper floor had collapsed into the lower floor. Most of the floor is original, so some of the stains on it could, in fact, be Model A or Studebaker oil. The building itself had been vandalized and most of the valuables stolen by locals. Several antique tools and a Model T gear shift were recovered from under the collapsed floor; Northland Properties Inc. still has them in their office. After repeated replacement of the glass windows from vandalism, the bars were added to the building at some time during the renovations to prevent the continued vandalism and theft of materials and building supplies.

It was operated as an antique shop from the time Northland Properties Inc. completed renovations until April of 2007. It has appeared in several travel magazines and was featured on the cover of Route 66. The gas pump out front is one of the three originals that serviced the patrons of the dealership.

There are stories of a couple of friendly ghosts who appear in the building from time to time, and the overall atmoshphere is warm and firendly, as the shop keepers and guests will attest to.

History of Jerome: (Thank You Wikipedia for content)

The presence of silver and copper has been known in the area around what is now Jerome since the Spanish colonial era when Arizona was part of A stream, stained turquoise-blue, emerges from a spoil pipe of copper ore.

Jerome became a notorious "New York Sun proclaimed Jerome to be "the wickedest town in the West".

In 1915 the population of Jerome was estimated at 2,500.

Jerome Deportation

Starting in May 1917 there was a series of miners strikes, in part organized by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). On 10 July of that year armed agents of the mine owners roughly rounded up all the labor union organizers and unionized miners on to railroad cattle cars, on 12 July letting them out near Kingman, Arizona after they were warned not to return to Jerome if they valued their lives. This incident is known as the Jerome Deportation.

This event would ultimately serve as a prelude to the larger and more well-known Bisbee Deportation.

United Verde Extension

In 1914, an exploration drift cut bonanza copper ore in United Verde Extension (or UVX) became a spectacularly profitable mine: during 1916 alone, the mine produced $10 million worth of copper, silver and gold, of which $7.4 million was profit. The UVX paid $55 million in dividends during its life (1915-1938), and made Jimmy Douglas a very wealthy man.

Ironically, Douglas's theory was all wet: in later geological studies, the UVX turned out to be a completely separate orebody. It was never a part of the United Verde.

Jerome Fires Jerome had three major fires between 1897 and 1899, burning out much of the town. The 1899 fire prompted Jerome to reincorporate as a city, and to adopt a building code specifying brick or masonry construction, as well as improving the fire companies. Despite these changes, the large and luxurious Montana Hotel, built of brick, burned in 1915.

In 1918 fires spread out of control over 22 miles of underground mines, burning the inflammable massive pyrite. One of the mine fires continued to burn for twenty years. This prompted the phasing out of underground mining in favor of open pit mining at the United Verde. Blasting in the mines frequently shook the town, sometimes damaging or moving buildings; after one blast in the 1930s the city ArtWalk

Jerome is known as an art destination, with more than 30 galleries and working studios. First Saturday Art Walk began in 2006, and has become a popular monthly event. In 2007, Jerome became a sponsor of The Sedona Plein Air Festival, and hosted some of the best-known plein air painters in the country, including local artist Cody DeLong.