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51-541: Warren McArthur , Jr., and brother Charles McArthur along with John McEntee Bowman , the entrepreneur behind the Biltmore Hotel chain, constructed the Arizona Biltmore. The Arizona Biltmore's architect of record is Albert Chase McArthur (brother of the hotel owners), yet the design is often mistakenly attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright . This is due to Wright's on-site consulting for four months in 1928 relating to

102-524: A 18-hole golf course, a 50,000 sq. ft. Forbes Five-Star spa, eight swimming pools, 30 tennis courts, a full-service 32-slip marina, more than 15 restaurants and bars, and 200,000 sq. ft. of meeting space.   The property fronts both Lake Boca (part of the Intracoastal Waterway ) and the Atlantic Ocean. The resort was operated as part of Hilton's Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts , and it

153-450: A magazine cover for Liberty Magazine in 1926. It was fabricated by Taliesin students and installed during the 1973 hotel renovations and restoration. Reproductions of the geometric 'sprite' statues originally designed by Wright and sculpted by Alfonso Iannelli for the 1915 Midway Gardens project in Chicago are placed around the property. Also, the original hotel solarium was converted to

204-650: A patent for the short-globe lamp, which he sold to the Dietz Lantern Company for $ 2,000.00. The following year, McArthur moved to Phoenix, Arizona with his brother, Charles, and formed the McArthur Brothers Mercantile Company to sell automobiles for Dodge. The brothers also formed KFAD, currently KTAR (AM) , the first radio station in Arizona, which began broadcasting in Phoenix on June 21, 1922. In

255-529: A popular folding chair design, until he retired in 1961. McArthur died in 1961 in New York City. Largely forgotten by the 1970s, McArthur's furniture was rediscovered in the 1990s. During that decade, Dolce & Gabbana used McArthur furniture in its ad campaign. Warren McArthur furniture is now highly sought by collectors and included in numerous museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum ,

306-486: A restaurant in 1973 and since the mid-1990s has been named 'Wright's'. Three onsite restaurants bear Wright's name: Wright's at the Biltmore, The Wright Bar, and Frank & Albert's. Three construction crews worked 24 hours a day to complete the hotel. S. M. Benet & Company of Beverly Hills, California was contractor with L. D. Richardson serving as project superintendent. The hotel opened on February 23, 1929. In 1930,

357-550: A secret passageway to the Mystery Room. The room is now used for meetings and conferences. Clark Gable and friends used to dine in the Gold Room. The 7,000 square foot ballroom could accommodate 480 guests. The Gold Room, with the gold leaf ceiling, was the original dining room of the Biltmore. It featured dancing and a live orchestra every night. The gold leaf ceiling and windows are from the original structure. There are two murals on

408-489: A successful businessman, and Minnie Jewel McArthur. Frank Lloyd Wright was a friend of the McArthur family. In 1892, Wright designed the house for the McArthur family, located in Chicago. McArthur attended Cornell University where he studied engineering. In January 1912, McArthur announced his engagement to his future wife Lorraine Peaslee of Dubuque, Iowa. Shortly after graduating from Cornell, in 1912, McArthur received

459-432: A weak metal. McArthur had supporting steel rods placed inside the hollow aluminum tubes of his furniture. The tubes and inner rods were attached together with interchangeable joints and washers that were visible and sometimes capped with a smooth round button. The furniture was then polished and given a finish that resembled matte silver. Many of his furniture designs had black rubber feet that resembled hockey pucks. With

510-401: Is located on the third floor. In the room there are displays of not only historical artifacts related to the hotel's history, but also the early furnishes which were once used. Among the historical artifacts on display is a wooden key which Scenic Airways dropped on the roof of the ballroom on February 23, 1929, the opening day of the hotel. The key is on display above the room's fireplace. On

561-423: Is now privately owned by an affiliate of MSD Partners with the new name, The Boca Raton. The resort first opened on February 6, 1926, as the 100-room Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn. Originally designed and built by Boca Raton's city planner, architect Addison Mizner , who intended Camino Real to be the main street of his new city, it was to have been one of two hotels, with the other being an oceanfront hotel. However,

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612-753: The Arizona Biltmore Hotel , which was designed by his brother Albert Chase McArthur . After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 , the Arizona Biltmore failed, and McArthur moved to Los Angeles, California to create a furniture fabrication company. In the early 1930s, aluminum became a popular industrial design material, and McArthur developed a specialization in designing and making aluminum tubular furniture, including chairs, tables, sofas, lamps, and ashtrays. McArthur soon began to receive commissions from prominent architects. Paul R. Williams commissioned McArthur to design 30 pieces of aluminum furniture for

663-531: The Catalina Pool aka Marilyn Monroe's Pool and the Cowboy Bunkhouse areas opened. These became favorite areas of Hollywood celebrities. The Catalina Pool was Marilyn Monroe 's favorite and she was often seen around the pool area sunbathing. Catalina pool supposedly is where Irving Berlin penned the iconic song “White Christmas”. Martha Raye was photographed playing chess on a large chessboard around

714-479: The Cowboy house. The Tequila sunrise is an alcoholic cocktail whose ingredients include tequila, Crème de Cassis, fresh squeezed lime juice and Club Soda. It was invented in the late 1930s by bartender Gene Sulit. Sulit was attending customers in the hotel's "Wright" bar when one particular customer asked Sulit if he could come up with a new drink to be enjoyed at poolside. Sulit mixed the ingredients mentioned above and

765-783: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art , the Philadelphia Museum of Art , the Art Institute of Chicago , the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts , and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum . Boca Raton Resort The Boca Raton (often called the Boca Resort by locals) is a luxury resort and club in Boca Raton, Florida , founded in 1926, today comprising 1,047 hotel rooms across 337 acres. Its facilities include

816-517: The McCain/Palin campaign hosted its final party at the hotel. Sen. John McCain , the Republican candidate for president, conceded defeat when he spoke to reporters and disappointed supporters on the hotel's lawn. Some supporters watched McCain's speech via closed circuit TV from the ballroom. Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer acted as master of ceremonies for the evening's entertainment earlier in

867-562: The Miami Arena . In December 2000, Boca Resorts, Inc. sold the hotel for $ 335 million to KSL Recreation, Inc . KSL retained the hotel until April 2004, when it was sold to the Orlando, Florida -based REIT, CNL Hotels & Resorts as part of the corporate acquisition of six of KSL's seven resort assets. CNL was sold to Morgan Stanley in 2007. In 2011, lenders including Paulson & Co. , Winthrop Realty Trust and Capital Trust foreclosed on 8 of

918-604: The Ritz-Carlton Investment Corporation became involved in the project and wanted the oceanfront hotel redesigned, so construction began on the smaller and financially more viable 100-room inn on the west side of Lake Boca Raton. Mizner's development company, hurt by the end of the Florida land boom of the 1920s and the 1926 Miami hurricane , declared bankruptcy in 1926. Philadelphia utility millionaire Clarence H. Geist bought its assets in 1927, and he expanded

969-439: The "Textile Block" construction used in the hotel. Albert McArthur had been a draftsman for Wright, and specifically asked Wright to assist with implementing the textile block system, which became a signature element of the hotel's appearance. The hotel has similarities to several Wright buildings, especially in the main lobby, owing to a strong imprint of the unit block design that Wright had utilized on four residential buildings in

1020-449: The 6-alarm fire which resulted in $ 2.5 million of damage. It was announced immediately by the new owners that this famed hotel would be rebuilt in 90 days and opened on schedule for its regular winter season the last week of September 1973. The prompt re-building included new custom designed carpets throughout the hotel, new furniture for guest rooms and public areas, new restaurant kitchen equipment, and renovated public interiors throughout

1071-665: The Cloister Inn into the Boca Raton Club. The architectural firm Schultze and Weaver doubled the inn's size, and a cabana club was constructed where the "Addison on the Ocean" condominium building now stands. Subsequently, the U.S. Army used the club as barracks during World War II . Touted by officials as "the most elegant barracks in history," it housed soldiers during the Boca Raton Army Air Field 's operation. After

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1122-591: The Cord family who owned the Cord automobile company. He was also commissioned to make aluminum furniture for Rudolph Schindler 's design for Sardi's restaurant location in Los Angeles. So too, McArthur's aluminum furniture was popular with Hollywood stars and producers of the 1930s. His clients included Jack L. Warner , Marlene Dietrich , Fredric March , and Clark Gable . In 1932, McArthur left Los Angeles and established

1173-555: The Los Angeles area six years earlier. McArthur is indisputably the architect as original linen drawings of the hotel in the Arizona State University Library archives attest, as does a 1929 feature article in Architectural Record magazine. The two architects are a study in contrast with the famous and outspoken Wright being self-taught and never licensed as an architect in Arizona. The more soft-spoken McArthur

1224-504: The McArthurs (the owners) lost control of the property to one of their primary investors, William Wrigley Jr. , who became full owner. The nearby Wrigley Mansion was built in 1931 and now operates as a private club. In March, 1952, Ronald and Nancy Reagan spent their honeymoon at the resort. Their favorite cottage in the resort was Cottage I. In 1970, the Wrigley family sold the hotel to

1275-449: The Talley family. 1973 almost spelled doom for the hotel: a large fire erupted on June 21, destroying interiors of large parts of the 3rd and 4th floors and tremendous water damage on the 2nd and ground floors. Investigators discovered that an arc from a welder installing a sprinkler system had started the blaze. Thirty-five (35) firetrucks and a hundred and fifty (150) fire fighters responded to

1326-589: The Warren McArthur Corp. in Rome, New York. He also set up a sales office and showroom in New York City at 1 Park Avenue in 1933. McArthur's success continued to grow and his furniture "graced the most sophisticated homes, stores and offices in the country." His commissions included Union Pacific Railroad cars, Cunard passenger waiting lounges, Chrysler executive offices, and Marshall Field's department store hair salons. In 1934, Warren McArthur's furniture

1377-520: The architect, Taliesin Associated Architects . After the 1973 fire the hotel began planning for an expansion. The 89-room Paradise Wing completed in 1975 was the first major expansion of the hotel since it had opened. The new wing was designed by John Rattenbury of Taliesin Associated Architects. M. M. Sundt Construction Company was general contractor for the new Paradise Wing and used precast concrete planes which are 18 square feet. The forms for

1428-518: The building of the Arizona Biltmore, near Phoenix, I have done for Albert McArthur himself at his sole request, and for none other. Albert McArthur is the architect of that building – all attempts to take the credit for that performance from him are gratuitous and beside the mark. But for him, Phoenix would have had nothing like the Biltmore, and it is my hope that he may be enabled to give Phoenix many more beautiful buildings as I believe him entirely capable of doing. The Biltmore History Room

1479-521: The concrete panels were crafted using the "Biltmore blocks" forms to achieve a uniform look with the original building. In 1979 the Taliesin-designed 120-room Valley Wing and a 39,000 square foot conference center opened. In 1982 the 109-room Terrace Court Wing was added, a Taliesin design similar to the existing architecture. General contractor for the Terrace Court was D. L. Construction. In 1979,

1530-486: The drink became known as the Biltmore Tequila Sunrise. 33°31′25″N 112°01′23″W  /  33.5235°N 112.0230°W  / 33.5235; -112.0230 Warren McArthur Warren McArthur (1885–1961) was an American industrial and furniture designer who specialized in aluminum tubular furniture during the 1930s. Warren McArthur, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois to Warren McArthur, Sr.,

1581-516: The evening, in the ballroom. In 2009, the Arizona Biltmore marked its 80th anniversary with two additions that reinforced the history and architectural legacy of the resort. Ocatilla at Arizona Biltmore – a 120-room addition offering the resort's most enhanced guest services, many complimentary amenities, club accommodations and Wright-inspired décor – was named for a compound Wright built in Phoenix's South Mountains to serve as his secluded, inspirational workplace. A new restaurant, Frank & Albert's,

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1632-660: The former CNL hotels. in 2013, the owners reached a deal to sell the Biltmore and three other properties to the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation . Hilton operated it as a member of their luxury Waldorf-Astoria Collection until May 2024, when it was transferred to their LXR Hotels & Resorts line. In 2004, while doing a campaign stop in Arizona , United States president George W. Bush slept there, under strict security measures. Over 200 policemen, Secret Service agents and bomb-sniffing dogs were at hand. On November 4, 2008,

1683-482: The guests in the room saw the light, they would return to their rooms through secret passageways. What is now an entry door to the room used to be an exit door behind a wall sealed off from the rest of the hallway so that police wouldn't see guests leaving. Actors Clark Gable and Carole Lombard would often stay in room 1201 (now known as the Clark Gable room) which was right next door to the Mystery Room. Their room had

1734-598: The hotel was taken over by the Rostland Corporation . In 1983, it became a Leper DBL Biltmore Association property, and in 1992 it was re-sold, to the Grossman Properties . A spa was opened in 1998. In July 1999, Florida Panther Holdings, Inc. acquired the property from Grossman Company Properties for $ 228.5M ($ 126M cash, $ 100M Florida Panther stock, and $ 62.5 debt assumption). Also, in 1999 Florida Panther Holdings, Inc. changed its name to Boca Resorts, Inc. At

1785-437: The hotel. "Saguaros", a design by Wright for the cover of Liberty Magazine, was fabricated by Taliesin students during the remodeling of the hotel and was installed in the lobby. Three separate crews were employed around the clock. In the wee hours before opening day, the final carpets were laid and the deadline had been met by a partnership of the owner, Talley Industries, the general contractor, J.R. Porter Construction Co., and

1836-469: The library moved to a new location in 1997. In 1941, McArthur designed furniture for the SS Milwaukee Clipper , which still contains the original McArthur furniture. McArthur's furniture was made in limited production because of the painstaking construction and expensive materials used. McArthur patented a technique to provide rigidity and strength to his aluminum tubular furniture, aluminum being

1887-573: The mid-1920s, the brothers converted a Dodge truck into a RV, that they called the Wonderbus, and gave tours of the Tucson area to tourists, including Sinclair Lewis . On January 4, 1926, Warren McArthur filed a patent for the RV design, called Touring and Camping Road Vehicle, and the patent was granted on March 10, 1931. In the late 1920s, McArthur began his career as an industrial designer by creating furniture for

1938-641: The publicly-traded owner and operator of five Florida resorts. In February 2009, the Beach Club finished a $ 150 million renovation, while the cloister and tower rooms were redesigned in 2006. In May 2009, Hilton announced that the resort would be the 13th property to join The Waldorf Astoria Collection . MSD Partners L.P. , led by Michael Dell , purchased the Boca Raton Resort & Club on June 4, 2019. The new owners, as of 2020, have made

1989-437: The resort's beach club in 1980, on the site that Mizner had intended the main hotel to stand on. VMS Realty, Incorporated (Van Kampen, Morris, Stone), the successors to Arvida regarding ownership, purchased the property in 1983 and renamed it in 1988 as the Boca Raton Resort & Club. In 2004, The Blackstone Group , a private investment firm, acquired the resort as part of its $ 1.25-billion acquisition of Boca Resorts, Inc.,

2040-421: The room there was a bar behind a revolving bookcase where the illegal alcoholic drinks were served. The hotel placed a beacon light (spotlight) atop the hotel whose official purpose was to alert the speakeasy guests in the event that the police arrived to raid the place. A hotel employee would be stationed on the roof and if he saw any police cars he would flash the spotlight on the skylight of the Mystery Room. When

2091-557: The seats used in US military aircraft during the war. McArthur made an important technological innovation by making the airplane seats out of magnesium alloy tubing that was lightweight and strong and that also saved other precious war-needed materials. After the war, McArthur produced passenger airplane seats until his company closed in 1948. In 1948, McArthur founded Mayfair Industries in Yonkers, New York and made institutional furniture, including

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2142-402: The second floor of the hotel there was a room known as the Mystery Room. It was called the "Men's Smoking Room" where supposedly the men who were guests went to smoke cigars. This was during the days of Prohibition (1920 to 1933) and the name of the room was a disguise because its true function in the night was that of a speakeasy . Only the guests that knew the secret password were allowed in. In

2193-490: The start of World War II , aluminum was restricted to war needs. The Warren McArthur Corp., which began making airplane seats along with its furniture in the late 1930s, was asked by the United States government to make aircraft seats for military airplanes. McArthur produced the majority of aircraft seating for military planes during the war. It is estimated that the Warren McArthur Corp. produced between 75 and 85 percent of

2244-920: The time, Florida Panthers Holdings, Inc. also owned the Boca Raton Resort & Club , the Registry Resort, the Edgewater Beach Hotel, the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Resort and Marina, the Radisson Bahia Mar Resort and Yachting Center and Grande Oaks Golf Club. The company also owned the Florida Panthers Hockey Club and had interests in the operations of the National Car Rental Center located in Sunrise, Florida and

2295-520: The walls: "Legend of the Sun" and "Warrior Twins" by Maynard Dixon (a 20th-century American artist whose body of work focused on the American West ) which were done on Belgian Linen. The Aztec Room was the original ballroom of the Biltmore. The 2,800 square feet room has a gold leaf ceiling and copper beams. Frank Lloyd Wright was instrumental in the room's design which had few or no adjustments. In 1940,

2346-626: The war, the Boca Raton Club's ownership and ultimately name were changed. The Schine family purchased the club in 1944, renaming it the Boca Hotel and Club. While it was affectionately known on brochures as The Boca Raton, the resort was part of the identical Schine portfolio which included the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and the McAllister Hotel in Miami . Arthur Vining Davis , whose brainchild

2397-418: Was Harvard-trained in architecture, mathematics, engineering, and music. McArthur obtained an architect's license in Arizona, number 338, in 1925, the year he arrived in Phoenix to begin his practice. Adding to the confusion, Frank Lloyd Wright influences have been added to the property over the years. This includes a stained glass window design entitled "Saguaro Forms and Cactus Flowers" that Wright designed as

2448-644: Was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art 's Exhibition of Contemporary American Industrial Art. During 1937, the Warren McArthur Corp. purchased and moved to a 40,000 square feet factory in Bantam, Connecticut. In 1940, the Virginia State Library purchased McArthur aluminum furniture for its new art deco building, currently the Patrick Henry Building , which remained in the building until

2499-611: Was inspired by and named for Wright and McArthur. A menu was created – of comfort foods and American classics with an Arizona twist – reflecting the dual influences of the two architects. The Arizona Biltmore was designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride and was listed in the Phoenix Historic Property Register in July 2009. Authorship of the hotel's design is not a new dispute. Wright wanted square blocks as opposed to McArthur's mathematically proportioned rectangle block that

2550-555: Was the Arvida Corporation , was responsible for modernizing the hotel. Opening the Boca Raton Club Tower in 1969, the building is still considerably taller than any other building in southern Palm Beach County . In addition, its famous "Boca pink" color has made it more famous than its stature of 300 feet (ninety-one meters) and twenty-seven floors, and it is commonly referred to as the "pink hotel". Arvida also constructed

2601-593: Was used. The pre-cast blocks which McArthur used became known as the “Biltmore Blocks". The blocks had a diverse geometric design and were made on site from desert sand. Wright had condemned McArthur's use of the block system and publicly claimed credit for the building's design. Nonetheless, Wright issued a carefully worded letter in 1930 that was published in The Architectural Record (quoted in Brendan Gill 's Many Masks ): All I have done in connection with

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