The Community That Changed A Nation!
Sun City, Arizona
MISSION STATEMENT
The Sun Cities Area Historical Society
is dedicated to the preservation and presentation
of the records and artifacts for Sun City, Arizona,
the world’s first Active Retirement Community
and its sister city Sun City West.
Through documentation and display in the first model home,
public programs and published written materials,
the Society seeks to interpret for future generation
the unique context of urban design interaction with
volunteerism to maintain these progressive cities.
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THE SUN CITIES MUSEUM
The Museum is the only building in the Sun Cities to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Museum officials were notified after several years of applying for the designation, the museum was finally granted historic status.
The organization was created in 1985 with a mission to preserve and present the history of Sun City and Sun City West. The museum is located in one of the first five model homes built by the Del E. Webb Corporation in 1960 as it prepared to launch Sun City, the nation’s very first master-planned, active-adult retirement community. The community opened to the public on January 1, 1960. The five model homes, along with Oakmont Recreation Center and a golf course were open to the public on that first weekend.
The home has been restored and features rotating exhibits focusing on the history of the community, as well as its developer – Del E. Webb – and the clubs and organizations in the retirement communities. “We’re extremely proud of our museum and think it’s a fitting honor to be recognized as one of our nation’s historic landmarks,” said Bret McKeand, president of the museum’s board of trustees. The National Register of Historic Places is the “official list of the nation’s historic places worthy of preservation.” The list is overseen by the National Park Service. Presently there are over 80,000 places on the list. Locations on the list in Arizona include the Wrigley Mansion, Hunt’s Tomb, Petrified Forest and Canyon de Chelly National Monument. The Del Webb Sun Cities Museum becomes the first property in either Sun City or Sun City West to earn the designation.
SUN CITY CHAT
Follow Bill Pearson’s Postings to see photos from the Museum’s extensive library that haven’t been viewed in many years
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Jack Douglas Hosts Valley of the Sun Featuring The Sun City Retirement Community (1962)
MEMBERSHIP
Membership is vital to our continued operation. Please join today and encourage your friends, neighbors, organizations and local businesses to become members too!