Founding After moving from Fresno to Phoenix in 1928,
Del Webb began working for a small contractor who was building a grocery store. The contractor eventually left town without paying Webb or completing the grocery store, so Webb took over the business to complete the job. This became the foundation of his namesake construction company. Among his earliest commissions were grocery store buildings for the
Basha family. Webb soon became known as a grocery store builder. However, Webb sought to expand his firm and eagerly sought out public sector jobs during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1937 the firm opened a small branch office in Los Angeles to oversee construction of a high school there. With the onset of World War II the firm constructed several airfields throughout Arizona, as well as an internment camp for Americans with Japanese lineage at Poston (
Poston War Relocation Center). In 1943, Webb made trusted employee L. C. Jacobson a 25 percent partner. Jacobson eventually became vice president. In 1946 Webb was contracted by mobster
Bugsy Siegel to build the
Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. From 1947 to 1948 Webb built distribution centers and warehouses throughout the United States for the
Kraft Foods Company. In the early 1950s Webb would be contracted to build facilities for
Howard Hughes. The Webb firm would go on to build several plants for Hughes. In 1952 the company founded its first subsidiary, the Del E. Webb Development Company, responsible for the design and construction of housing tracts and shopping centers. In 1953 the development company would begin construction on
San Manuel, Arizona a mining town built out of nothing. In 1955 the Webb corporation began constructing hotels for the
Flamingo Corporation, which Webb was part owner. The following year Webb constructed the first
Hiway House Hotel, which was a company owned jointly by Webb and Flamingo. On March 1, 1958, Webb sold his share of the Flamingo hotels and Flamingo sold its share of Hiway House. Thus Webb became full owner of Hiway House, the hotel chain would be sold off in the early 1960s. As well as housing, during the 1950s, the construction company would build hospitals, hotels, and other large and small scale projects. On January 1, 1960, the development company unveiled
Sun City, Arizona as the first community designed for senior citizens. More than 100,000 senior citizens were present at the community's unveiling, which marked the first planned retirement community in the United States. Sun City was a success, with the company selling 237 homes within its first three days of opening. It was followed by
Sun City, California, the
Kern City,
Sun City Center, Florida, and similar developments in
Nevada,
Illinois, and
Massachusetts.
Public incorporation In December 1960, the Del E. Webb Construction Company went public on the
New York Stock Exchange trading as WBB. The company also became known as the Del E. Webb Corporation at this time. In 1961, the Webb Corporation acquired the Sahara Nevada Corporation and its holdings of the
Sahara and
Mint hotels in Las Vegas. This made Webb the first publicly held corporation to be involved in Las Vegas gaming. In 2001 the corporation was purchased by
Pulte Homes. The Del Webb name is used by Pulte as a brand name for its age-restricted communities. ==Works ==