01. The Idea of a Hotel in the Unspoiled Desert
- Chandler Museum
Acclaimed architect Frank Lloyd Wright met Dr. Chandler in 1928 while Wright was consulting on the construction of the Arizona Biltmore. Chandler first approached Wright with an idea for a grand hotel to be built at the base of South Mountain. Wright was receptive, partially because of his poor financial state, but also because he was impressed with Chandler, believing him to be a man of vision.
Chandler took Wright to the proposed site for the hotel on the southern slope of South Mountain. What is now housing developments was open desert, elevated in the foothills with sweeping views of the desert floor below. Upon seeing the site, Wright said “There could be nothing more inspiring to an architect on this earth than [this] spot of pure Arizona desert…at last here was the time, the place, and in Dr. Chandler the man.”
