The Wigwam, also known as the Wigwam Hotel or Wigwam Resort, is a resort hotel in

Litchfield Park, Arizona Litchfield Park is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is located west of Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,847, up from 5,476 in 2010. History The town of Litchfield Park is a community out ...

which opened in 1929.

History

The Wigwam Hotel originally served only as guest housing for executives of the Goodyear Tire Company when they visited their cotton farms located in the area. Goodyear executive and primary overseer of the company’s cotton production, Paul W. Litchfield, built the hotel on his land in what is now Litchfield Park. The hotel opened to the public for the first time on Thanksgiving Day 1929. The first building on the property was the Organization House, a meeting place for Goodyear built in 1918. The structure still stands today. The hotel has since expanded into a resort with 331 rooms. The resort boasts such amenities as three golf courses, nine tennis courts, and three swimming pools. During the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, in 2008, the property had gone bankrupt. Local businessman

Jerry Colangelo Jerry Colangelo (born November 20, 1939) is an American businessman and sports executive. He formerly owned the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the A ...

, purchased the property. Colangelo’s company, JDM Partners, invested heavily in the resort making historically sensitive renovations. The Wigwam Hotel has been listed by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

as a member of the

Historic Hotels of America Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program identifies hotels in the United States that have maintained authenticity, sense of place, and a ...

since 2010. In 2022, the hotel was named by Historic Hotels of America as the best historic resort in the United States. Among the celebrities who have stayed in the hotel are

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, Daniel Day Lewis and

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

Golf Courses

In 1930, less than a year after the hotel opened to the public, a nine hole golf course was developed and opened at the resort. In 1935, this course was expanded to eighteen holes by VO “Red” Allen. In 1965,

Robert Trent Jones Robert Trent Jones Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a British–American golf course architect who designed or re-designed more than 500 golf courses in 45 U.S. states and 35 countries. In reference to this, Jones took pride in saying, ...

was brought to the resort to design and oversee the development of the properties’ second course, as well as redesign the first course built in the 30s. These courses were renamed the “Blue” and “Gold” courses. The resort’s third course, the “Red Course,” was built in 1972. The hotel's

golf resort A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized resort facilities with full-service accommodations and luxury amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place ...

is the only 54-hole golf resort in the state of Arizona.

References

{{Reflist Hotels in Phoenix, Arizona Hotels established in 1929 Historic American Buildings Survey in Arizona Tourist attractions in Phoenix, Arizona Spanish Colonial architecture 1929 establishments in Arizona