Living Large: The Troubled History of Arizona's Largest House (Part 3 of 3)

In my research into Phoenix history, I have become fascinated by the largest private home in the State. This three-part series is a deep dive into the troubled story of Arizona's Largest House, known as the McCune Mansion or Hormel Mansion.

Part one is about Walker McCune, who began building the palatial house in 1960 and owned it until his death in 1971, though he never lived in the main residence. Part two covers Gordon Hall, the flashy businessman and white-collar criminal who owned the house from 1983 until 1986. Part three is about George Albert "Geordie" Hormel, an accomplished composer and musician and heir to a family fortune who owned the home from 1991 through the end of his life in 2006.

Each of the house’s three owners was substantially wealthier than an average person, and yet each of their lives was a roller coaster of misfortune and tragedy.

The Family Business

George A. Hormel was born in Buffalo, New York on December 4, 1860. His parents were immigrants from Germany, John George Hormel (1836-1890) and Susannah “Susan” Hormel (Decker) (1836-1910). He was one of eleven children.

 

George A. Hormel, founder of Hormel Foods, in 1924 (age 64)

At age 12, George began working in a meat packing house in Chicago. He eventually relocated to the small town of Austin, Minnesota, which is located about 40 miles southwest of Rochester, MN. He married Lillian Belle Gleason and together they had a son, Jay, in 1892.

At age 31, he founded his own business: George A. Hormel & Company. The company sold meat, poultry, and other goods and became very successful. The business really started to take off in 1926 when Hormel Foods began selling “ham in a can.”

George A. Hormel & Company Provision Market in 1891.
Source: hormelfoods.com

At age 67, George Hormel retired from handling day-to-day operations but continued to serve as chief executive officer. His son Jay C. Hormel was named acting president. Hormel became a public company in 1928.

Jay’s leadership brought fresh new ideas and innovations. The company flourished under his leadership. In 1937, the company introduced SPAM, a cooked pork product that sold in signature blue cans. The company also created brands like Dinty Moore beef stew and Hormel chili during this era.

In 1922, Jay married Germaine Dubois. They went on to raise three children: George II “Geordie” (born 1928), Thomas (born 1930) and James (born 1933). Jay’s father George passed away on June 5, 1946 at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 85. Jay C. would continue to lead the company until 1947. Jay later passed away in 1954 at the age of 62.

George Albert “Geordie” Hormel II

George Albert Hormel II was born in Austin, Minnesota on July 17, 1928. He was the first of three children of Jay and Germaine Dubois.

 

Partial Family Tree for the Hormel Family
Source: North Phoenix Blog

He was a member of the Austin High School class of 1946, but transferred before graduating. Geordie and his brothers Thomas and James all attended Shadduck Saint Mary's military school in Faribault, Minnesota. He graduated as a lieutenant in the Army Reserve.

In 1947, with money he had earned by working summers in the packing house, he shipped off to Occidental College in California. He rarely attended class and dropped out not long after. He spent two years working in a meat packing plant in Nebraska.

To avoid being drafted for the Korean War, Geordie joined the Coast Guard along with his two brothers. An accident left him in the hospital with a sprained back, and so Geordie organized a Coast Guard band.

He married his first wife, movie actress Leslie Caron, on September 23, 1951. He was 23 and she was just 20 years old. The couple divorced on April 26, 1955.

Geordie and his first wife, actress Leslie Caron, in 1953.
Source: Silver Screen Mementos on eBay

After his service ended, Geordie formed a band that released one moderate hit, then fizzled out. He had a lucky break when some music he had written was used as cue music for the television show Playhouse 90.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Geordie was composing music for television shows including The Fugitive, Lassie, Naked City, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Ruff & Ready Show, Quick Draw McGraw, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, and many others.

Geordie briefly owned the family's historic home in Austin, MN but lost it during his second divorce. The home is a museum and event space today. Image: HormelHistoricHome.org

He bought the family mansion in Minnesota following his father’s death in 1954 and turned the property into a hotel. His second marriage was to Kim Wadsworth on March 23, 1957. The couple had two children, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1961. As a result of the divorce, his assets were frozen and he lost ownership of the family mansion.

Geordie bounced around for a while, spending time working at a radio station in Portland and performing music in New York City. Things would finally click for Geordie when he moved back to Los Angeles in the late 1960s.

The Village Studios

In 1968, Hormel married Nancy B. Friedman, with whom he had one child; they divorced in 1973. 

In 1968, Geordie had saved up $125,000 and purchased a 22,000 square foot Masonic Temple in West Los Angeles, California. The old building at 1616 Butler Avenue was built around 1922, and was later used as a meditation center. This would become the new home for The Village, a recording studio that Geordie was immensely proud of. It was one of the first 24-track studios in the area.

Geordie Hormel founded The Village Studios in Los Angeles in 1968.
Source: Google Maps

He created a comfortable, state-of-the-art place where musicians could do their thing, but he preferred to stay out of the spotlight. Geordie owned the studio as an absentee owner, taking care not to interfere with musicians or their sessions.

The studio was used for recording sessions by Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, George Harrison, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, Sly & the Family Stone, and Steely Dan, among many others.

The Hormel Mansion

When Geordie’s mother passed in 1991, she left behind an estate worth some $40 million, according to a 1993 Arizona Republic article. Geordie’s net worth was estimated to be $20 million – some of which he made himself, and some of which he inherited from his family.

The Arizona Republic announces Geordie's purchase of the McCune Mansion on 14 March 1991.

Geordie made a big splash when he bought the Walker McCune mansion in March of 1991 for $3.75 million, or $72/sq. ft. The papers ran profile pieces on him, telling about his life as the heir to a meat packing fortune and his own path as a musician and entrepreneur. Geordie said that he bought the house intending to use it as a think tank for executives to share ideas about environmental policy. But when the Town of Paradise Valley would not grant a zoning variance for that use in a residential neighborhood, Geordie moved into the home instead.

He didn’t intend to move to Arizona, but said that he loved the people. “I don’t like the desert, but the people here are just wonderful. I just love the people here. I’ve never been anywhere where I’ve met so many nice, wonderful people.”

He and his fourth wife Jaime, their two girls, and their entourage of friends and family moved into the 20-bedroom, 26-bathroom house. He actually lived in the guest house on the property. In a move that shocked the well-heeled elites of the neighborhood, Geordie had the home furnished with used furniture from a local furniture consignment chain.

The Wrigley Mansion

As it turns out, having one gigantic home wasn’t enough for Geordie. In June of 1992, at the age of 64, he purchased the Wrigley Mansion for $2.6 million. Geordie said that he bought the home “in order to preserve its history and dignity.”

At the time, the historic property was threatened with becoming a condominium development. Prior to that, the home was owned by Western Savings Bank, which used the mansion for corporate retreats and events.

Geordie purchased the historic Wrigley Mansion in Arizona in 1992.

The mansion was one of five lavish homes built by chewing gum founder and industrialist William Wrigley Jr. (1861-1932). The Arizona mansion, at 16,850 square feet, was the smallest of his residences. Nicknamed “La Colina Solana” (the sunny hill) it was constructed between 1929 and 1931 as a “winter cottage.” The house has 24 rooms, 12 bathrooms, and is notable for its extensive use of ornate ceramic tile work.

Geordie was again at odds with the city over its use. He invested millions into renovating the property, but was only allowed to open it as a private club. In 1997, he said that he had spent about $8 million on the project in total.

The Wrigley Mansion contains this extraordinarily rare Steinway player piano, custom built for Mr. Wrigley, and 1 of 2 ever built. The piano is contractually obligated to stay with the house.

One interesting side note about the house is that it contains an extraordinarily rare Steinway player piano, one of only two ever built by the company. It was built per special order of Mr. Wrigley, who sent the company a blank check for its construction. $10,000 later, the piano was delivered with 10 scrolls of music composed by George Gershwin. The purchase contract for the home stipulates that the piano is to remain with the home.

Album covers from some of Geordie's music.

Geordie enjoyed playing music for the patrons of the restaurant, and even released a CD of a live performance there.

Personal Life

Geordie told a newspaper that he and his two brothers were bullied out of the family business after their father died in 1946. He and his brothers had no role in running the company but received approximately $4 million apiece each year.

Hormel married his fourth and final wife, Jamie Renee Vincent, on June 2, 1992. The couple had two children (Geri and Gillian) and were married until Geordie’s death on February 12, 2006, at age 77. 

The thing to know about Geordie is that he was the complete opposite of Gordon Hall. Whereas Hall had a big ego, Geordie was humble and soft-spoken. Hall liked attention and flashy projects, while Geordie was more artistic and concerned with the welfare of his friends and family. Geordie was a philanthropist and gave generously to causes he supported.

He opened his home up to friends, family, and people who needed a place to stay. Despite their incredible wealth, Geordie and Jamie are both described as having an ambivalence towards money.

Geordie’s Passing

In February of 2006, Geordie was hospitalized for a week with an infection, according to the Alberta Lea Tribune. He returned home and died shortly thereafter. Geordie Hormel died peacefully at his home on Sunday, February 12, 2006 at 6:00 AM. He was 77 years old.

Geordie is remembered as a talented musician, a philanthropist, and as a caring and devoted family man. In 2006, he was survived by his wife, six children, eight grandchildren and two brothers. Since then, his brother Thomas passed in 2019 and his brother James passed in 2021.

Present Day

While Geordie passed away in 2006, both the Hormel Mansion and the Wrigley Mansion are still owned by his family as of the time of this publication in mid-2022. A caretaker lives on the premises in the guest house of the Hormel Mansion, and the Wrigley Mansion continues to operate as a private club.

The Hormel Mansion was listed for sale in 2006 for $25 million, and was later reduced to $20 million – though it did not find a buyer.

Aerial photo of the McCune / Hormel mansion in Paradise Valley from a now-removed 2016 listing.

The home was listed again in June 2010 for $15 million, but the listing was removed in May 2011 after failing to find a buyer. This was repeated again a few years later when the home was listed in July 2013 for $10 million, and was removed in August 2015. The home was re-listed in December 2015 for $10 million and was reported to be pending sale, but that fell through.

Exterior of the McCune / Hormel mansion.

The last time the home was put on the market was June 2016 for $8.6 million, but the listing was removed in June 2018 after failing to find a buyer.

The one-of-a-kind home is in a very desirable location, but it is likely that prospective buyers are put off at the idea of having to invest heavily in bringing the home up to modern standards. For the same money, it makes sense to most buyers to have a new custom home built instead.

What does the future hold for the house? Will another listing be coming in the future?

If you ask me, I find it interesting that the home was not re-listed during the insane real estate run-up of 2020-2021, when home prices jumped nationally and in the Phoenix market. It’s just a matter of time of waiting to find the right buyer, whenever that may be. No one can say for sure.

UPDATE: A June 28, 2022 article in the Phoenix Business Journal says that the Hormel family has once again listed the home for sale, with an asking price of $16 million. Are market conditions finally right for the home to find its next buyer? Only time will tell.