Largest House in Arizona

A home is more than just a place to live, it can also be a symbol of wealth, success, and prestige. Arizona is home to many luxury homes with multimillion-dollar price tags. Have you ever wondered: what is the largest home in Arizona?

There are many superlatives that can be used to describe a home: most expensive home sold, most luxurious home. For this article I am talking purely about size: what is the largest square footage private residence in Arizona?

To answer this question, we must distinguish between completed homes and under construction homes.

1. Walker McCune Mansion

Paradise Valley, Arizona is a wealthy enclave located within the Phoenix metro area. Although small in size at 15.4 square miles (39.8 km2.), it is very affluent with a median home price of $2.5 million. But even among these luxury properties, the McCune Mansion stands out from the rest.

The largest private home in Arizona is the 52,000 square foot Walker McCune Mansion, located at 6112 N Paradise View Drive in Paradise Valley. At 52,000 square feet, the McCune Mansion is the largest completed single-family home in Arizona.

The McCune Mansion in Paradise Valley has 52,000 square feet of living space on 3 levels.

 

Walker McCune was the grandson of the founder of Standard Oil Company, and the beneficiary of a significant trust fund. Between 1960 and 1965, McCune spent about $5.4 million (equivalent to $49.2 million in 2022) building the palatial home on Sugarloaf Mountain. However, he went through a bitter divorce with his wife and never lived in the home. He died in 1971 at the age of 68.

The house was purchased in 1986 by businessman and investor Gordon Hall. Hall spent $1 million renovating the home, but spent his time between this property and another home in Mesa. Hall was arrested by Federal agents in 1997 for fraud and racketeering charges. In 2015, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for running a tax scam and a ponzi scheme.

The house changed hands once again in 1992 when it was purchased by Geordie Hormel, heir to the Hormel Foods company. Geordie lived in the 3-bedroom guest house and allowed his friends and family to stay in the main house. Geordie was soft spoken, humble, and an accomplished musician who founded The Village Recording Studio in Los Angeles and composed music for many popular television shows in the 1950s and 1960s. He lived in the home until his death in 2006 at the age of 77.

The home is still owned by the family. It has been listed for sale in 2006, 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2016 with the last listing being removed in 2018 after failing to find the right buyer. The house has every amenity imaginable including 14 bedrooms, 30 bathrooms, 5 kitchens, 3 levels of living space, and a 10-car garage. It remains to be seen if the home will be listed again someday in the future.

 

2. Silverleaf Mansion

Before the Great Recession and the subprime mortgage lending crisis of 2007, the real estate market was a giant bubble about to burst. One example of this mania is the Silverleaf Mansion, which began construction in 2006.

Artist rendering of the 100,000 sq. ft. Hope Mansion at Silverleaf in North Scottsdale. The home was sold unfinished to Michael Matzek in 2014.

A technology entrepreneur named Jason Hope announced plans to build a mega mansion totaling 100,000 square feet. Hope founded a mobile technology company called Jawa.

In December 2010, Hope threw a massive Christmas party at a completed part of the house. Approximately 400 guests were invited to the event, which included a performance from rapper Ludacris and guests from several TV shows including Snooki from Jersey Shore and "Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul. The party cost a reported $500,000 according to the website Gawker.

Construction was halted in 2011 after Hope's company Jawa faced a lawsuit over a text-messaging scheme that was alleged to have cost cellphone users millions of dollars. Although Hope settled the suits in 2012, construction did not resume.

The partially-built home was sold in 2014 to Idaho developer Michael Matzek, who announced plans to complete the home. Since that time, I have not been able to find any reports or accounts of the home being completed.

3. Cave Creek Mansion "Blue Sky Preserve"

Cave Creek, Arizona is a small town with a population of around 5,000 people. It is located on the north east edge of the greater Phoenix area. In 2016, the website Sonoran News ran a story about a construction project in Cave Creek with the name "Blue Sky Preserve."

The project is on a large 230-acre parcel of land, leading to speculation that it would be developed as a resort or perhaps a subdivision of new homes.

This Cave Creek mansion will be the largest private residence in Arizona at 60,000 sq. ft. upon its completion. Photo by: 12 News.

In 2020, the Arizona Republic ran a story about the project, calling it the "Cave Creek Massive Mystery Compound." A reporter discovered that the project is actually a 60,000 square foot private residence, which has been under construction for more than a year.

The owner of Blue Sky Preserve is unknown, but aerial photos from 12 News show a lavish main house with 4 artificial lakes on the property.

When complete, this house on Grapevine Road in Cave Creek will capture the title of Largest House in Arizona.

History of the Cine Capri Theatre in Phoenix

Phoenix has been home to many movie houses and theaters over the years, but the grandest of all was the Cine Capri. During its 32 year history from 1966 to 1998, the Cine Capri was more than just a movie theater; it was a destination and an icon of Phoenix. Let’s dive into the history of this fantastic, beloved venue.

The original Cine Capri movie theater at 2323 E Camelback Rd.
Photo by: Harkins Theatres

Early Movie Theaters

A few movie houses existed in Phoenix as early as the 1900s, showing short films and cartoons. Costing a nickel for admission, these “nickelodeons” were often set up in converted storefronts. Comfort of the patrons was not a priority. The feature-length films we know today became the standard between approximately 1910 and 1915. The addition of sound in 1927 (bonus points if you can name the first “talkie”) was a catalyst that made movie theaters grow in popularity.

 

Early movie theaters were simple structures that were not fancy or ornate. A typical theater was a box-like building located on a Main Street or busy downtown area. Inside, there was a single screen and seating for a few hundred people. According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average cost of a movie ticket in 1948 was just 36 cents.

 

A few examples of these early theater buildings still exist today, including:

• Paramount Theatre, Peoria, AZ (built 1920)
• College Theatre, Tempe, AZ (built 1940)
• Avon Theatre, Avondale, AZ (built 1946)
• Saguaro Theater, Wickenburg, AZ (built 1948)

Avon Theatre (1946) Avondale, AZ	Paramount Theatre (1920) Peoria, AZ
College Theatre (1940) Tempe, AZ	Saguaro Theater (1948) Wickenburg, AZ
Photos by: North Phoenix Blog

By the 1930s, movie theaters had evolved into purpose-built structures that emphasized comfort of patrons. Upholstered seating and air conditioning were a few of the amenities that distinguished them from early movie houses, though they were still single-screen venues. This format was the standard for movie theaters until the early 1960s.

The Age of the Multiplex

A Kansas City theater operator named Stan Durwood realized that he could double the revenue of a single theater by adding a second screen and still operate with the same size staff. In 1962, he opened the first two-screen theater called the Parkway Twin. This was more than just a savvy business idea – it was the birth of the “multiplex” theater that is still in use today.

It didn’t take long for Durwood’s multiplex idea to spread. A Canadian company called Taylor Twentieth Century Theaters opened a tri-plex theater in Burnaby, British Columbia in 1965. Not to be outdone, AMC Theaters opened a four-screen theater in Kansas City called Metro Plaza in 1966, and a six-screen theater followed in 1969. The movie theater concept had evolved into a new format with multiple theaters and screens under one roof.

 

The Cine Capri in Phoenix

While theater operators around the country began scaling up and adding more screens in the 1960s, a completely different idea was taking shape in Phoenix. Rather than build a multiplex theater, the Arizona Paramount Company began construction of a new single-screen theater in 1964. This theater would become the Cine Capri. It was located on the southwest corner of 24th Street and Camelback Road next to the Barrow’s Furniture showroom.

The Arizona Paramount Company hired prominent Phoenix architect Ralph Haver and his firm Haver, Nunn, and Nelson to design the new theater. While Haver was most known for his affordable, single-family homes, he also worked on schools, churches, banks, and other civic and commercial buildings. Homes and Son were chosen as the General Contractor for the project.
 

Please visit https://cinecapri.com/in-the-beginning/ to see photos of the theater's construction.

Haver's design was for a grand theater, built with the finest quality materials. The 16,500 sq. ft. facility had an entrance that was flanked by a curved portico featuring unique Y-shaped concrete support columns. A 24 foot stained glass panel filled the lobby area with natural light. According to a history page on Harkins Theaters website, the Cine Capri theater featured lavish decor with imported Italian tile in the lobby and plush couches in the "Powder Room."

The original Cine Capri movie theater at 2323 E Camelback Rd.
Photo by: Harkins Theatres

The theater was equipped with the best in projection and sound technology for its time. It was the first theater in the southwest specifically designed to project all film aspect ratios of the time, including Cinemascope, Vista-Vision, and Cinerama from its 70/35 mm projectors. The theater was decorated with antique gold fabric curtains that would retract to reveal the giant screen as the film began.

View more photos of the original Cine Capri at ModernPhoenix.net: https://modernphoenix.net/haver/cinecapri.htm

A Very Grand Opening

A gala opening was held at the new Cine Capri theater on Thursday, March 31st, 1966 at 7:30 PM. An advertisement in the newspaper described the theater as "A landmark of splendor dedicated to the people of Arizona...your new home of supreme entertainment!!"

The opening film was "The Agony and the Ecstacy" starring Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison. The highlight of the opening was an appearance by the film's star, Charlton Heston himself, on Friday, April 1st, at 8:00 P.M. By all accounts, the new theater was a grand success.

To the right is a newspaper clipping from March 29th, 1966 advertising the Cine Capri's gala opening. Source: Newspapers.com

Operational History

Within a year of opening, the Arizona Paramount company sold the theater to Arizona ABC. They would operate the theater from 1967 to 1974. The theater would change hands again in 1974. This time the Cine Capri was owned and operated by Plitt Intermountain until 1987.

Aerial photo of the Cine Capri theater in 1969
Image: Maricopa GIS

When Star Wars opened in May 1977, the theater's business boomed. The film was so enormously popular with audiences, a line would form around the theater of patrons waiting to see the movie. The Cine Capri played Star Wars for more than a year. This run became the longest run of the Star Wars movie in the United States.

1977 Newspaper ad for Star Wars at the Cine Capri
Source: newspapers.com

In 1987 the theater was sold to CineMark, who operated it for just a year before selling it to local theater operator Harkins Theaters in 1988.

End of an Era

The Cine Capri became part of the Harkins theater chain in 1988. Harkins would operate the theater for the next 10 years, but problems soon arose for the theater. While Harkins owned the building, they did not own the land - which had become increasingly valuable.

According to Harkins Theaters, a year-long battle began in 1997 between the theater company and the landowner. The landowner wanted to demolish the theater and replace it with a high-rise office building. A committee called "Save the Cine Capri" was formed and collected more than 260,000 petition signatures from people who wanted to see the beloved theater saved. Sadly, the property owner had no interest in preserving this piece of Phoenix history.

Cine Capri Theater in the late 1990s.
Photo by: George E. Smith, from the Vintage Phoenix group on Facebook

The final movie shown was James Cameron's Titanic on January 5, 1998. At 2:12 AM, the gold curtains were lowered for the last time. Six weeks later, the theater was demolished - reduced to a pile of rubble.

Souvenir tickets from the final showings of Titanic at the Cine Capri theater.
Photo by: Nanette Adams-Escajeda on Facebook.

Please visit the website https://cinecapri.com/the-curtain-falls to see photos of the Cine Capri's demolition.

Aerial photos of the Cine Capri location in 1991 and 2001
Source: Maricopa GIS

Though the theater was gone, its legacy was not forgotten. Gayle Martin, the daughter of W.E. "Bill" Homes, Jr., created a detailed model of the Cine Capri theater, which her father's contracting company had built. I saw the model on display at the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Tempe, AZ in 2017.

Photos by: North Phoenix Blog

 

The New Cine Capri

In November of 2002, Harkins Theatres announced that they would begin construction of a new multiplex theater called Cine Capri. It would be located in North Scottsdale at the Loop 101 Freeway and Scottsdale Road.

The new Cine Capri at Harkins Scottsdale 101 opened in 2003.
Photo by: Harkins Theatres

 

The new Cine Capri held its grand opening on Friday, June 27, 2003. The new theater was built at a cost of $17 million, according to an industry publication by QSC Audio.

Souvenir ticket from the Grand Opening of the new Cine Capri at Harkins Scottsdale 101 on June 27, 2003.
Photo by: Deganlink on reddit

 

The Harkins Scottsdale 101 Cine Capri features a massive 70 foot by 30 foot screen, with seating for 568 guests. It even has gold waterfall curtains like the original theater did.

Harkins paid tribute to the old theater by including a few of the signature support columns at the new location. A display in the lobby has memorabilia from the original Cine Capri.

These columns pay homage to the original Cine Capri theater.
Photo by: North Phoenix Blog

Entrance to the new 568-seat Cine Capri at Scottsdale 101
Photo by: North Phoenix Blog

Gold waterfall curtains at the new Cine Capri
Photo by: North Phoenix Blog

Present Day

Harkins continues to operate the new Cine Capri theater in Scottsdale at the time of this writing. In 2018, the Harkins chain announced a $150 million upgrade to its theaters. This included new Harkins Ultimate Lounger (TM) seating, reserved seating, and an updated lobby. The Scottsdale 101 location was upgraded to the latest Dolby ATMOS sound and a Laser Projection system.

In fact, Harkins now uses the "Cine Capri" branding at 3 other locations:

• Tempe Marketplace in Tempe, AZ
• Bricktown 16 in Oklahoma City, OK
• Northfield 18 in Denver, CO
  

Final Thoughts

Buildings are more than just structures where we live, work, play, worship and shop. The experiences and emotions that we attach to these places are etched in our memories. They become part of our stories as individuals.

While the Cine Capri was a movie theater that operated for 32 years, it was about more than movies for many Phoenix residents. It was a place for first dates, big-screen thrills, celebrations, and great times with friends and family.

I am glad that the Harkins company decided to continue the legacy of the Cine Capri with the new location. While it may not have the splendor or the memories of the original theater, the new Cine Capri is a fitting tribute to one of Arizona’s greatest movie theaters. It shows that the Harkins company genuinely cares about the community and what this once-great theater meant to the people who went there.

Solar 1 Subdivision by John F. Long

John Fitzgerald Long (1920-2008) was a legendary businessman and real estate developer in Phoenix. While he did not invent the concept of a master-planned suburban neighborhood, he was the first to implement the idea in Arizona.

John F. Long became a household name in the 1950s with the creation of Maryvale, a massive planned community in Phoenix comprising more than 30,000 single-family homes integrated with schools, shopping centers, and community buildings all woven together. After building Maryvale, John did another, lesser-known project in the mid-1980s called Solar 1, whose story I have not seen told anywhere else. I will cover that after a little backstory on John F. Long and his rise to become the most prolific homebuilder in Arizona's history.

John F. Long Builds a House
In 1947, the 27-year old Long had returned from his service in the US military during World War II. He took an $8,000 GI loan to build a home for himself and his wife, Mary. After six months, the home was completed at a cost of $4,200.

Before they could move in, Long received an offer of $8,500 for the newly-completed home and, savvy businessman that he was, sold the home for a handsome profit. He repeated the process, building 15 more homes before finally settling into a place of his own. Between 1951 and 1954 he built nearly 1,600 homes in West Phoenix.

 

On March 5, 1948 John F. and Mary P. Long sold their first house, located at 7017 N. 23rd Avenue in Phoenix to Mr. and Mrs. Walter.
Photo by: Commercial Executive Magazine, Issue 7, 2012

Long had recognized the incredible opportunity that was present in the form of the post-war economic boom following World War II. Affordable single-family housing was in high demand in 1954. Long figured out how to mass-produce single family homes that could be built quickly and at scale. By using modular mass production techniques such as component assembly of roof trusses, wall sections, and custom-designed cabinetry, assembled at the site, he could cut construction time. His innovations in housing were similar to what Henry Ford did for the automobile - he made it affordable to the masses.

John F. Long with GE Spokesman Ronald Reagan at the GE Award Home in Maryvale, 1958.

John F. Long shows GE spokesman Ronald Reagan features of Maryvale's GE Award Home, 1958.
Photo by: Power Lines by Andrew Needham

Maryvale - Arizona's First Master-Planned Community
In 1954, John F. Long Homes began building a massive new community in Phoenix which he called Maryvale after his wife, Mary. What made this neighborhood different was that it had a master plan, which included space for schools, churches, hospitals, shopping centers and parks.

Maryvale was the first master planned community in Arizona, and would become the blueprint that many other homebuilders would use for the next 70 years. Del Webb used a very similar concept in developing the very first master-planned retirement community, Sun City, in 1959 through the 1980s.

Maryvale Model Homes: Greatest Home Show on Earth

Maryvale was a smash hit that made John F. Long a rockstar real estate developer. Buyers could purchase a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a swimming pool for less than $10,000 (approximately $95,000 in 2020). By 1956, two years into the project, his company was selling 125 new homes per week. Between 1954 and 1979, more than 31,000 homes were built in Maryvale, with half of those built by John F. Long. In 1990, the company closed its homebuilding operation to focus on retail and commercial projects in the West Valley.

Long wasn't just a homebuilder - he wanted to build communities. He donated countless acres of land to the community and to county, state, and federal governments. The success of Maryvale brought him a number of accolades including Citizen of the Year in 1957, induction to the National Housing Hall of Fame in Washington D.C. in 1984, the Arizona Businessman’s Hall of Fame in the 1990s, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from WestMARC in the year 2000.

A 1950s era billboard for John F. Long homes, advertising a luxury compact home for $9,400.

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Solar 1 - The World's First Solar Subdivision
But, the whole reason for this post is not to tell the story of Maryvale. I want to tell the story of what John F. Long did after his magnum opus. This is the story of the little-known project called Solar 1.

The origins of Solar 1 go back to 1979, when John F. Long companies built a "solar demonstration home" with an array of photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof. In a 1985 interview with Canyon Echo, the newsletter for the Arizona Chapter of the Sierra Club, Long had this to say about that first demonstration home: 

"We first used photovoltaics (PV) as part of the roof of that house, but eventually moved the panels because part of the roof created shadows. There were also some problems with maintaining and cleaning off the panels and visually, there was an aesthetic problem."

There was a plan to build a solar-powered neighborhood of 100 homes in the Moon Valley area of North Phoenix, but according to the article, the U.S. Department of Energy pulled out of the project, following President Reagan's budget cuts in 1981.

Solar 1 Neighborhood at 71st Dr. and Osborn Rd. in Phoenix
Photo: North Phoenix Blog

An Experiment in Energy Efficient Homebuilding
Still, the project to build a solar neighborhood was not dead. It re-surfaced in 1985 as a scaled-down project called Solar 1, with 24 lots located at 71st Drive and Osborn Road in Phoenix. This time, the project was totally financed without government participation.

A 1985 advertisement for Solar 1 by John F. Long Homes

The first homes were completed in 1985, with final lots being sold around 1989. The homes in Solar 1 range in size from 1,600 to 2,200 square feet. The whole neighborhood is powered by 2,600 flat plate photovoltaic panels from Arco Solar, arranged in two long rows of racks along one side of the neighborhood. The racks are connected to an inverter which changes direct current to alternating. The system has a peak generation power of 192 kilowatts.

The neighborhood is also connected to the local electric grid as a backup. The subdivision has no battery storage, but with careful energy usage, homeowners will have very small electric bills, and in some cases may even produce excess energy, which is sold back to the utility provider.

Map of Solar 1 neighborhood in Phoenix

Re-Thinking the Single Family Home
Solar 1 was the world's first solar subdivision. It is unique for being one of the only photovoltaic central power plants in Arizona that is not operated by a utility company. But to me, the real genius of Solar 1 is that the solar panels are just one part of the project. The homes themselves are also extremely energy efficient, using a rammed-earth construction method and exterior walls which are 21 inches thick.

From the 1985 Canyon Echo newsletter:

"In order to make PV cost-effective, we had to rethink the total building, not just the photovoltaics themselves. After evaluating the whole project, we decided to go with rammed earth walls for thermal storage. What we're doing is putting each home's insulation on the outside of the home to keep the heat out and the rammed earth walls cool.

Starting from the outside, we have stucco-covered urethane foam, then a one-inch dead air space. Next comes the rammed earth wall which is covered on the inside by sheetrock.

Overall, the wall is 21 inches thick; the rammed earth part is 16 inches thick. Again, by putting the insulation on the exterior, heat doesn't get in. On our demonstration rammed earth model home, we have thermocouplers built into the wall (Editor's note: for temperature monitoring). The center thermocoupler didn't vary but one degree over the last few days. Those rammed earth walls can hold three days worth of cooling.

The walls and home interior are cooled in the morning with the evaporative cooler (or maybe refrigeration, depending on the owner). The wall releases coolness at a slow, even rate from top to bottom, without drafts. It's like living in a basement but above ground level."

 

 

The 24 homes in the Solar 1 subdivision look like any other homes in the area, but are constructed using rammed earth exterior walls which are 21 inches thick, and combined with a photovoltaic central power plant for highly energy efficient living.  

I think that the idea of combining energy-efficient rammed earth construction homes with a solar central power plant was brilliant. The idea with this community was not to make them homes look like some wacky "house of the future" but to show that energy efficient homes could be done and they could look normal. Indeed, the neighborhood blends in well with the surrounding area, and no one would suspect that these 24 homeowners have a utility bill that is a fraction of what their neighbors pay.

It is too bad that the idea of building highly energy efficient homes that look totally normal did not progress beyond this one subdivision in West Phoenix. I think that Solar 1 was a great idea that was ahead of its time.

 

This John F. Long sidewalk stamp from 1983 is at G. Frank Davidson Elementary School, across the street from the Solar 1 subdivision.  

For more about Solar 1, check out this video I found on YouTube. It was recorded in 1988, and features an interview with Larry and Jackie, a retired couple who purchased the very first home in the development. I found it amusing how they emphasize that they are not environmentalists - but that they purchased the home purely for the cost savings on electricity. 

Decorative Sewer Manhole Covers in Phoenix

The greater Phoenix area is made up of more than 20 incorporated cities, towns, and census designated places. Collectively, the "metro Phoenix" area is home to 4.7 million people.

As these cities and towns grow closer together into one giant mass of sprawl, how do they retain their individual identities? One small way that cities set themselves apart is with decorative sewer manhole covers. Here are five good ones that I've come across in the Phoenix area. I will update this post with more unique sewer and manhole covers as I find them.

City of Phoenix sanitary sewer cover featuring the Phoenix bird symbol, which was designed in 1987 in a widely publicized design contest. The winning entry was a design by the firm of Smit Ghormley Sanft and became the official city symbol in 1990.

City of Peoria, AZ storm sewer cover featuring a setting sun, mountains, a Saguaro cactus, and an agricultural field in the foreground. The year 1954 is when Peoria was incorporated as a city.

City of Glendale, AZ sanitary sewer cover featuring the three pillar design that appears throughout the city. The pillars represent three key elements of community—the citizens, the business sector, and the government that serves them. They were adopted as the city's official logo in 1990.

City of Chandler, AZ sanitary sewer cover featuring the city's official logo, which was adopted in 1994. It has a stylized "C" with the San Tan Mountains, the growing city, and agricultural fields in the foreground.

City of Scottsdale, AZ storm sewer cover features a cowboy riding a bucking bronco. The design was adopted as the official city seal around 1951. It was designed by local artist Gene Pennington and was based on an actual Scottsdale cattleman and resident Gerbacio "Harvey" Noriega.

November 2020 Update: I found another one!

The City of Buckeye, Arizona has these unique storm sewer covers in their Historic downtown district. The design features the bud of a cotton plant - a historically important crop in the region. It says "Historic Buckeye - Founded 1888." Interestingly, all of the other covers have a small cutout or notch to facilitate removal of the cover using a special manhole cover lifting tool. The Buckeye one does not have a notch and I have no idea how this would be removed!

Remembering the Sundome in Sun City West

Like many large cities, downtown Phoenix has its share of large stadiums and event centers. Symphony Hall, the Herberger Theater, the Orpheum Theatre, Comerica Theatre, and of course, Chase Field and Talking Stick Resort Arena, which are home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Suns, respectively.

Downtown Phoenix is not the only place in the Valley of the Sun to catch a great concert or performance. As you venture towards West Phoenix and Glendale, there are several big venues including the University of Phoenix Stadium (completed in 2006), Gila River Arena (completed in 2003), and the Ak-Chin Pavilion (opened in 1990).

The Sundome in Sun City West, AZ

But before all of these new facilities existed, the major entertainment venue of the West Valley was the Sundome in Sun City West, AZ. With a seating capacity of 7,000 people, the Sundome was the premier venue for concerts, musical and theatrical performances, and many other events.

The Carpenter's Apprentice
The story of the Sundome really begins in 1928 when a carpenter's apprentice from California named Delbert "Del" Webb moved out to Arizona and started his own construction company. America's involvement in World War II was a catalyst that ignited a building boom in Arizona, and Webb was riding a wave of success with Government contracts. His company built the Poston War Relocation Center near Parker, AZ as well as Thunderbird Field No. 1 (today Thunderbird School of Global Management), Luke Air Force Base, and Pinal Air Park near Tucson, AZ.

Fred Kuentz, Del Webb, and John Meeker
Photo (c) Del Webb Sun Cities Museum

 After the war, the Del E. Webb Company branched out and was the primary contractor for the Flamingo Casino and Sahara Casino in Las Vegas. They continued to build heavily throughout Arizona, working on projects such as shopping centers and hospitals.

Pueblo Gardens - The Prelude to Sun City
In 1948, Del Webb was awarded a contract that would be a significant turning point for his company. The project was a 700 home development in Tucson called Pueblo Gardens, which included a 100,000 square-foot shopping center called Pueblo Plaza.

The homes were constructed simply with wooden frames on concrete foundations, but Webb and project manager A. Quincy Jones found ways to make them unique. A total of six floorplans were designed, but by building the homes at different angles on the lots and varying the setbacks from the street, the neighborhood did not appear to be a "cookie cutter" subdivision. Models included a one-bedroom, one-bath for $4,975, a two-bed, one-bath home for $5,975, and a three-bed, one-bath for $7,975.

Families lined up to view new models.
Photo by Peter Stackpole for LIFE Magazine, 1948

The $20 million Pueblo Gardens project was a success, with hundreds of families lining up around the block to view the new model homes. Though the project had an option to build out to 3,000 homes, only 750 homes were built in Tucson. Media attention from Life Magazine and Arizona Highways brought national attention to the project, and Webb must have certainly recognized a market opportunity in building master-planned neighborhoods that integrated low-cost homes with schools, parks, and shopping centers. It is likely that Pueblo Gardens was the inspiration for a new retirement community in Arizona.

Sun City Rises
In 1959, Del Webb began constructing the first of what would later become many master-planned retirement communities. The company purchased 20,000 acres of cotton fields and transformed the land into Sun City, an age-restricted development for those age 55 and up who wanted an "active lifestyle" retirement. Sun City opened on January 1, 1960 and received a cover story in Time Magazine.

The homes were built using many of the same principles that had made Pueblo Gardens successful, and surrounding them with golf courses, community centers, and recreation facilities. One of the key features of Sun City was the Sun Bowl, an open-air amphitheater for hosting concerts and other public performances.

The Sun Bowl
The idea came from John Meeker, who was the president of DEVCO, Del Webb's Development Company. In a 1996 interview with the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum, Meeker recalled that in about 1967 or 1968, he was on an airplane flight and read a Time magazine article about a large housing project in south San Francisco that had built an outdoor amphitheater as a marketing tool. Meeker liked the idea, and it wasn't long until Sun City had its own amphitheater - the Sun Bowl.

The Sun Bowl Amphitheatre in Sun City, AZ
Photo: North Phoenix Blog

Residents would bring their own folding chairs to the terraced lawn and watch performances in the wintertime. Meeker recalled that Liberace was the first act to play at the Sun Dome, and Lawrence Welk and many others were booked for residents on a weekly basis. He stated that the Sun Dome worked as a marketing tool, and sales of new homes jumped from 1,100 houses per year to 1,800 houses per year.

A 1960s era billboard advertising Liberace at the Sun Bowl on March 17th (year unknown).

Two of the most popular performers ever to walk the Sun City Sun Bowl stage, Bobby Burgess and Cissy King, react to the enthusiastic full-house crowd.
Photo by: Del Webb Sun Cities Museum, January 1972

 

Another all-time Sun Bowl favorite, Guy Lombardo, meets his fans after a Sun City Performance.
Photo by: Del Webb Sun Cities Museum, January 1972

However, the Sun Bowl was not without its problems. As Meeker stated in the interview, the unpleasant odor of cattle from the nearby Spur Feedlots and the constant flyovers of jet aircraft from Luke Air Force Base were sources of frustration for the residents of Sun City, and affected the enjoyment of these outdoor performances.

Sun City West - Home of the Sundome
By 1978 Sun City was fully built out, but Webb had no intentions of stopping there. The company began work on a new project 2 miles to the west, appropriately named Sun City West.

Aerial image showing construction of Sun City West on April 3, 1980
The Sundome is visible as indicated by the white arrow
Photo (c) Del Webb Sun Cities Museum

Like the original development, Sun City West would feature a mix of retail, community, and residential spaces easily accessible to residents. However, the plans for entertainment with Sun City West were scaled up considerably.

Instead of another outdoor amphitheater, the Del Webb Company wanted to build a large indoor theater to draw larger acts and performances. They had looked into a New York based architect who had built inflated dome structures in Iowa and Florida as a possible low-cost alternative to traditional construction methods. However, Meeker recalls that the interior noise of those structures was "tremendous." Still, the developers liked the idea of the dome-shaped structure, and hence the name Sundome was chosen.

Construction of the Sundome began in November 1978.
Photo by: Arizona Memory Project

 

Work is progressing rapidly by the Webb contracting group on Sun City West's Sundome. At the Sundome, a steel deck and roofing will be supported by four huge fabricated trusses, including 2 of 250 feet length and tapering to a mid-length of 19 feet. Two cranes lift one of the huge, 60-ton members which will allow a clear span auditorium, 48 feet high, seating 6,800 people.
Photo: The Webb Spinner, May-June 1979
Del Webb Sun Cities Museum

The new Sundome was several orders of magnitude larger than the old Sun Bowl. With a roof four stories tall and a seating capacity of 7,000 people, the Sundome would be a major selling point for Sun City West. Construction on the new 108,000 square-foot Sundome began in November 1978 and lasted more than a year. Whereas the Sun Bowl cost just over $100,000 to build, the Sundome was constructed at a cost of $8.6 million dollars.

Opening Night at the Sundome 9/13/1980
Photo (c) Del Webb Sun Cities Museum

When completed in September of 1980, the Sundome was the largest single-floor theater in the nation. It featured plush, comfortable seats that were usually only found in higher-priced sections of major theaters. Things were off to a great start with Lawrence Welk and his orchestra playing the venue's inaugural show.

New Owners, New Opportunities
While the Del Webb Company had built the Sundome, the company had no interest in operating the venue going forward. They noticed that Arizona State University had a proven record of managing Gammage Auditorium, and offered it to ASU for $1. ASU assumed ownership of the Sundome in 1984. At the time, the Sundome was operating with an average annual deficit of $200,000 - meaning the facility was not making any money.

Arizona State University operated the Sundome for many years.
This University Seal is located in the sidewalk on the site of the former Sundome.

 ASU continued to operate the Sundome for the next decade, during which time the venue hosted acts including Bob Hope, George Burns, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Walter Cronkite, John Denver, Andy Williams, Willie Nelson, Red Skelton, and countless more big names.

Refit and Financial Troubles
By 1995, the 15-year old theater was in need of a refit. Upgrades to the stage, dressing rooms, and adding additional restrooms were estimated to cost $5 million dollars. It took almost 4 years to raise the necessary money, but donations and gifts of $5.4 million had been raised by December 1999.

According to the Sun Cities Historical Society, professional theater design companies were brought in to review the planned upgrades. Cost estimates quickly spiraled out of control to $20 million dollars. Some of the desired upgrades were cut back, but the lowest bid still clocked in at $13.5 million dollars - far more than the Sundome could afford. The project to refit the theater was officially cancelled.

West Entrance to the Sundome
Google Street View - June 2011

As operating costs continued to outweigh the annual income, ownership of the Sundome was transferred from ASU to Maricopa County and took on the new name of "Maricopa County Events Center." They continued to book shows, but audiences weren't showing up in big numbers like they used to. Many shows were performed with less than half of the seats filled. An annual variety show and high school graduation ceremonies were some of the larger events held at the Sundome during this time.

Closure and Sale
In 2009, ownership was transferred from the County back to Arizona State University. Not long after that, the Sundome closed permanently. The seats and lighting equipment were removed, along with the 75 foot by 6 foot mural from artist Alfred Kabica that hung in the lobby for 29 years.

The Lobby area of the Sundome featured a 75 foot-long mural by Alfred Kabica.
Photo (c) Arizona Republic

The Sundome sat there, empty and fenced off until 2012, when Scottsdale-based developer Brown Grace 6 Investments LLC bought the 16-acre site from ASU for $2 million. In May of 2013, Maricopa County approved a demolition permit for the facility. By June, local news stations reported that the Sundome would be replaced by a 94,113 square foot Fry's Grocery Store.

Aerial image sequence showing Sundome in 2012,
demolition in 2013, new Fry's in 2014

Demolition of the Sundome commenced in August 2013 and was completed by September. The site was cleared and construction on the new grocery store and shopping center was underway.

Fry's Preserves the Sundome's Legacy
When the new Fry's Grocery Store opened on August 29, 2014, residents who fondly remembered the Sundome were delighted to see that the new structure incorporated elements of the Sundome into the design. The decorative iron gates from the Sundome were saved and were added to the exterior walls as design elements. The original light fixtures could not be saved, but replica ones were created for the front of the store. Mosaic tile adorns the entryway, as it did with the original building. A smaller scale replica of the original fountain was also built near the store's entrance.

The new Fry's store preserved the arched gates and mosaic tile pattern from the original stadium.
The lighting fixtures are replicas.

Small Plaque dedicated to the Sundome

This fountain is a smaller replica of the original Sundome fountain

Throughout its 33 year history, the Sundome was one of the most iconic and memorable venues of Phoenix's West Valley. Though its history was a turbulent one, it was a source of entertainment and community events for nearly three decades. While it is sad that the Sundome could not be saved, there is some consolation that the memory of this place is not lost forever. Personally, I am very pleased that Fry's recognized the importance of the Sundome to Sun City West and its history and I appreciate the lengths they went to incorporate details of the former structure into the new grocery store.