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Del E. Webb Corporation Photographs 1941-1987

MSS-279

Biographical Note

Delbert Eugene "Del" Webb was born to Ernest and Henrietta (Forthcamp) Webb in Fresno, California on May 17, 1899. His father, a contractor who operated a sand and gravel business on the side, went bankrupt when Webb was 14. Webb quit school and began working as a carpenter in 1917, supplementing his income by playing semi-professional baseball beginning in 1918. In 1926, he was injured sliding into home base and suffered a severe attack of typhoid fever, which left him with an injured throwing arm and in uncertain health. On the advice of friends Webb moved to Phoenix, where he worked as a carpenter until starting his own construction company in July of 1928.

Phoenix was growing quickly in the late 1920s and the Del E. Webb Construction Co. began building such necessary structures as gas stations, stores, and churches. The firm grew substantially during the 1930s, partly because Webb expanded into fast-growing Southern California and partly because he travelled to Washington and Sacramento to meet the executives who controlled federal construction projects. He befriended a number of powerful politicians, including President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. When World War II broke out, Webb's construction company was the largest in Arizona and ready to handle government contracts. His firm built some of the largest military installations in the West, including airfields, training bases, barracks, and such internment camps as the Poston War Relocation Center. By the end of the war, Webb's company had done approximately $100 million worth of work for the government. Webb continued to obtain government contracts and built such structures as the veterans' hospitals and missile silos.

In 1946, Webb began work on the Flamingo Hotel, one of the first of Las Vegas' luxurious casinos. Webb maintained that he did not know that the project was financed by mobster "Bugsy" Siegel until after he began work and later recalled that Siegel always paid his progress payments promptly in cash with a gun on the table. When the Flamingo demanded more money than Siegel's criminal enterprise could provide, Webb arranged a $1 million loan from the Valley National Bank. Siegel was shot to death on June 20, 1947, six months after the Flamingo opened for business. Webb left Las Vegas until 1960s, when his company worked on the Sahara Hotel. It later owned both the Sahara and the Mint in Las Vegas in addition to numerous other casinos in Reno and Lake Tahoe.

Webb began to diversify in the 1950s when he entered the development field, acquiring land, buying and selling houses, and developing shopping centers, motels, and communities. He was proudest of Sun City, one of the first retirement communities in the country. Located north of Phoenix, the development opened in 1960 and included homes, a shopping center, a recreation center, and a golf course. Webb also developed the Mountain Shadows Resort, which became a popular gathering spot for celebrities, in Scottsdale during the 1960s. This resort featured a luxury hotel, a large swimming pool, tennis, golf, and a variety of night life.

Although his dream of becoming a professional baseball player was never realized, Webb maintained a lifelong passion for baseball and bought the New York Yankees with Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail in 1945 for $2.8 million. The Yankees turned a profit during every year he owned the franchise and he sold the team to CBS for $14 million in 1965. Webb was also an avid golfer, playing with such celebrity amateurs as Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Forrest Tucker, and Lawrence Welk in the Phoenix Open.

Webb was married twice: first to Hazel Church in 1919 (divorced in 1953) and then to Toni Ince in 1961. Del E. Webb died of lung cancer in Rochester, Minnesota on July 4, 1974 at the age of 75.

Scope and Content Note

The Del E. Webb Corporation Photographs include one hundred and ninety-three boxes of images showing Webb's construction and real estate business. These photographs document all phases of construction jobs; many projects are depicted from before the ground breaking to the finished building and landscaping of the property. Also included are numerous studio portraits and personal photographs showing Webb with family, participating in recreational activities, and with film and sports celebrities. The collection has been divided into two series. Series I: 4" x 5" Images includes both photographs and negatives and is arranged alphabetically by job title. Series II: 8" x 10" Images houses prints arranged by the image number assigned by the archivist.

Arrangement

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.

Access Terms

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Del E. Webb Corporation Photographs, MSS-279, Arizona State University Library.

Provenance

R. H. Johnson donated these materials to the Arizona Collection on behalf of the Del E. Webb Foundation on April 17, 2003 (Accession #2003-02631).

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