Douglas C. Towne
Scottsdale went “hi-fi” in 1961 when the Executive House Arizonian opened in the “West’s Most Western Town.” The $3 million, 210-room resort at 4823 North Scottsdale Road, located just north of Camelback Road, was built on 10 acres with five wings facing a central patio. The Chicago-based hotel chain had outlets in Chicago, Washington D.C., Memphis, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and Dutch Guinea.
Resort amenities included two swimming pools, a sun deck, and a nine-hole putting green. Sustenance was provided by the Sun Dial coffee shop, while the upscale Fountain Room offered dancing along with dining. In addition, the glass-enclosed La Roca cocktail lounge dispensed adult beverages overlooking a rock garden and waterfall.
The resort was most proud of their rooms’ interior features, according to an article in The Arizona Republic in 1961. These conveniences included a refrigerator, coffeemaker, blackout curtains, and a mirrored panel that opened to produce an ironing board and iron, the latter of which shut off thanks to an automatic timer.
These amenities were part of the chain’s emphasis on providing “all the comforts of home,” according to A.M. Quaries, executive vice president of Executive House properties. “[It’s] such a nuisance to call room service for a couple ice cubes,” he said.
“What better way to start a guest’s day off with a smile than that early-morning gulp to get going on?” Quaries added about the room’s coffeemaker. “No, it doesn’t seem to harm business in the coffee shop.”
The owners of the Executive House Arizonian selected interior design and custom furniture specialists from their hometown of Chicago. First, however, the firm went local with their contractor, H & J Construction Co., Inc., and architect Barrie H. Groen of Edco Architectural Co., Inc.
Construction consisted of concrete, block-bearing walls with precast reinforced concrete slabs for the second floor. The architectural highlight was a bridge across a reflecting pool at the main entrance.
The gala opening in 1961 included Hollywood starlet Jayne Mansfield, her body-builder husband, Mickey Hargitay, and actor Preston Foster. The resort changed its name over the years, becoming the Sunburst Resort in the 1970s when it hosted the National Indian Arts Exhibition and the Scottsdale Jazz Festival. The property became the Caleo Resort in 2005, and later that year, the FireSky Resort & Spa.
In 2017, the resort became The Scott, rebranding itself as where “Old Havana meets Bauhaus eclecticism,” and was recognized for its eco-friendly hospitality practices.
Douglas C. Towne is the editor of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, https://www.arizcc.com/.
httpss://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-history/2022/02/17/scottsdales-executive-house-arizonian-grand-opening-star-studded/6638379001/
