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53-818: Plans for the casino hotel were announced in January 1963 by the Del E. Webb Corporation , a real estate development firm that also owned casinos in Las Vegas, including the Sahara . Webb leased 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land for the development from the Park Cattle Co., a ranching company with large land holdings in the area. Construction began in April 1964. The property opened as the Sahara–Tahoe on June 30, 1965. Developed at

106-408: A concentration camp. Loyalty we know, and patriotism we feel, To sacrifice our utmost was our ideal, To fight for our country, and die, perhaps; But we're here because we happen to be Japs. We all love life, and our country best, Our misfortune to be here in the west, To keep us penned behind that DAMNED FENCE, Is someone's notion of NATIONAL DEFENSE! A number of buildings built for

159-634: A cost of $ 25 million, the Sahara had a 14-story hotel with 350 rooms, and a 1,000-seat theater restaurant. The Sahara expanded with a second hotel tower completed in late 1968, with 224 rooms on 8 floors. Elvis Presley performed at the Sahara Tahoe from 1971 to 1976, and his suite is still available for guests to book. In 1983, the Sahara was given a Western theme and rebranded as the High Sierra Hotel/Casino. In 1985, it hosted

212-542: A number of construction projects commissioned by the United States government , including the construction of a rocket engine test stand at Edwards Air Force Base . The company also built military housing on Offutt Air Force Base , Whiteman Air Force Base and Vandenberg Air Force Base . The company's founder, Webb was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson as recognition for these projects. In 1987,

265-535: 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

318-659: A softcover book, contains photos and illustrations of life in the Poston relocation center until it closed. Catherine Harris went on to work in the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC. She maintained contact with many of the people she met in Poston throughout her life and retirement in Honolulu, HI. That Damned Fence (anonymous): Poem from an internee about life at Poston. They've sunk

371-1157: The Rosenzweig Center all in Phoenix, Campbell Plaza and Wilmont Medical Center in Tucson, Executive and Commerce Plazas in Oak Brook and the Stardust Country Club (renamed Sahara-Nevada Country Club) in Las Vegas. The Webb Corp. also served as leasing agent to many large companies including Prudential Insurance , Travelers Insurance, Arizona-Colorado Land & Cattle Company, Valley National Bank , Feau Realty & Development and Hartford Insurance Company . The company's interest in commercial properties continued until 1987 at which time these properties were sold. Poston War Relocation Center The Poston Internment Camp , located in Yuma County (now in La Paz County ) in southwestern Arizona ,

424-464: The 1950s Webb began building shopping centers which were also owned or jointly owned by Webb through several wholly owned subsidiaries. The Del E. Webb Building Management Co. was created in 1968 as a subsidiary. It then became the Del E. Webb Realty & Management Co. in 1970. Major properties that fall under this umbrella Include Uptown Plaza Shopping Center, Camelback Village Square, Christown Mall and

477-412: The 1960s Webb would develop a chain of high-end, multi-story hotels called Towne House. During this time, the corporation was also deeply involved in the development of Oak Brook, Illinois , Clear Lake City, Texas and Alamaden, California . In the late 1960s, the corporation entered a joint venture building infrastructure for several South American countries, which was the firm's first engagement outside

530-399: The 1970s and early 1980s, the corporation continued to construct many large and small scale projects including housing, schools, hospitals, hotels, high rises, convention centers, athletic venues, and airports. The company would also continue to keep close ties to Las Vegas and its gaming industry, working on a major expansion of Caesars Palace in the mid-1970s. The company was involved in

583-562: The American Dream by Kiyo Sato, the Japanese-American author writes about her family's time while incarcerated at the Poston camp during World War II. This memoir shows how the power of family, love, and relentless hard work helped to overcome the huge personal and material losses endured by internees. Sato went on to achieve professional distinction. She is a registered nurse with a master's degree in nursing and served in

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636-704: 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. Webb would go on to purchase, build, and expand several properties throughout Nevada. In

689-547: 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

742-602: 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

795-827: The Horizon for renovations on April 1, 2014, with plans to rebrand it as the Park Tahoe Casino Resort. Warner Gaming, which operated several casinos, including the Hard Rock Las Vegas , was retained to manage the property. In July 2014, the Park family announced that the Horizon would be rebranded as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe, instead of the Park Tahoe. The name was used under license from Brookfield Financial , which owned

848-520: The Japanese are just as unwanted on the Mohave reservation they have been shipped to as they were at home. But then she meets a young Mohave boy, who, after initial resentment, becomes her first real friend. Together, they navigate the racial and political challenges of the times, and both help each other understand the true meaning of friendship." In Kiyo's Story, A Japanese American Family's Quest for

901-605: The Japanese internees was difficult from the start. Japanese Americans across the West Coast were uprooted from their lives and placed in different camps around the United States, including Poston. Hurried construction and lack of supplies made living conditions for internees barely suitable. Barracks were made with redwood, which shrunk more than expected and created cracks throughout the buildings. A shortage of lumber led them to build using adobe . Weather also added to

954-633: The USAF Nurse Corp during the Korean War, where she rose to the rank of captain. Passing Poston: An American Story is a documentary recounting the experiences of four Japanese Americans in Poston: Kiyo Sato, Ruth Okimoto, Mary Higashi, and Leon Uyeda. Kiyo Sato's story (recounted above) is from when she is a young girl, and has to face the tragedy of her citizenship being taken away. Ruth Okimoto gives an interesting perspective of

1007-488: The United States. Also at this time, the corporation formed an additional subsidiary, the Del E. Webb Building Management Company, which was responsible for building management and would eventually become the Del E. Webb Realty and Management Company when the subsidiary expanded to include holding leases on public buildings. In 1971, the corporation acquired Merlin Hotels, which had many properties throughout East Asia. Throughout

1060-594: The University of California's Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study, were published in Inside an American Concentration Camp: Japanese American Resistance at Poston, Arizona . A novel by Cynthia Kadohata , Weedflower , illustrates the life of a Japanese-American girl and her family after the bombing of Pearl Harbor , when they are incarcerated at Poston. The book is fiction but contains facts from interviews of incarcerees and Mohave Indians who lived on

1113-457: The barbed-wire perimeter at Poston I, which was where the main administration center was located. Poston was a subject of a sociological research by Alexander H. Leighton , published in his 1945 book, The Governing of Men . As Time wrote, "After 15 months at Arizona's vast Poston Relocation Center as a social analyst, Commander Leighton concluded that many an American simply fails to remember that U.S. Japanese are human beings." When Poston

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1166-538: The camp was mostly filled with frustration and struggles to the end of their internment. A camp newspaper, the Poston Chronicle (formerly Official information bulletin , then Official daily press bulletin ) was published weekly between May 1942 and October 1945. The name of the newspaper was selected from over 30 entries and was submitted by S. Kido, who reasoned the objective of the newspaper was, "to record chronologically events that occur at this outpost of

1219-631: The camps. Hundreds of "Dear Miss Breed" postcards and letters are now part of the permanent archives at the Japanese American National Museum and were the basis for a 2006 book, Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration during World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference, by Joanne Oppenheim. Three reports ("Labor", "Leisure", and "Demands") and an autobiography written by Richard Nishimoto, an Issei worker for

1272-642: The companies who defined the High Sierra Format , the basis for how computers access CD-ROMs today. In 1990, the High Sierra was sold to Columbia Sussex , which re-branded it again as Horizon. In 2005, Park Cattle Co. moved to evict Columbia Sussex from the premises, alleging that they had allowed the Horizon to fall into disrepair. The ensuing lawsuit lasted until 2008, when Tropicana Entertainment (successor of Columbia Sussex's casino business) agreed to pay $ 165 million to Park Cattle and end

1325-595: The company tried to reward him by nicknaming a star after him in 1993. 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 built by the Del E. Webb Construction Company, (1928-1960) later the Del E. Webb Corporation (1960-2001) are listed in the table. Several works by the firm are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Properties owned, managed and/or operated by Del E. Webb Corporation. In

1378-509: The concentration camps are still in use today. Others, while still intact, are seriously deteriorated and in desperate need of maintenance. Most were removed after the camp closed, and the land was returned to the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and many are still in use as utility buildings in surrounding areas, while the former residential areas have been largely converted to agricultural use. The Poston Memorial Monument

1431-400: The construction of Youngtown, Arizona , Del E. Webb began planning the construction of a retirement community for senior citizens in 1959. The development was planned as an age-restricted community of modern ranch-style houses , with facilities such as a shopping center , golf course , motel , and swimming pool . On January 1, 1960, the development company unveiled Sun City, Arizona as

1484-559: The decision was made to divest the gaming, hotel, and realty management sections of the corporation, all of the Webb-owned properties were sold off, and the corporation was reorganized to focus solely on the concept of master-planned communities for senior citizens . New communities opened in Arizona, Nevada, California, and Texas. During the 1990s, Marco Rubio began holding speaking engagements at these retirement communities, for which

1537-592: The desert for pioneering endeavors of the Japanese race." The final edition of the newspaper (volume XXVII number 18) was published in English on October 23rd, 1945 and in Japanese on October 24th. Clara Breed , a librarian from San Diego , made a point of maintaining contact with Poston camp children she had met in San Diego. She corresponded with many of them and sent them reading materials and other gifts. Their letters to her became an important record of life in

1590-463: The difficulties of living in the camp because of its location in the desert. Extreme heat during the summer, reaching up to 115°F, and extreme cold in the winter, reaching as low as 35°F, added to the frustrations of internees. Outbreaks of disease were another common factor across most camps that contributed to poor quality of life. Poston was not immune to disease outbreaks, and tuberculosis was rampant with 140 reported cases. Care for these sick people

1643-551: The first camp less than three weeks later. Construction on II and III began soon after, contracted to be finished within 120 days. In the meantime, Poston was partially opened on May 8, as the Parker Dam Reception Center, one of two such sites that augmented the 15 temporary " assembly centers " where Japanese Americans waited to be transferred to the more permanent WRA camps. Around two-thirds of Poston's population were brought directly from their homes to what

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1696-588: 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 . In December 1960,

1749-441: The floodlight glare Awakens unrest in our nocturnal quest, And mockingly laughs with vicious jest. With nowhere to go and nothing to do, We feel terrible, lonesome, and blue: That DAMNED FENCE is driving us crazy, Destroying our youth and making us lazy. Imprisoned in here for a long, long time, We know we're punished—though we've committed no crime, Our thoughts are gloomy and enthusiasm damp, To be locked up in

1802-425: The following decades. Along with construction, the corporation was also involved in real estate and owned several hotels and casinos which were built and/or expanded by the company. The company was purchased in 2001 by Pulte Homes. Pulte Homes since merged with Centex Corp. and became PulteGroup . Del Webb continues as a brand of PulteGroup. After moving from Fresno to Phoenix in 1928, Del Webb began working for

1855-510: The internment as a young girl, as well. She remembers soldiers coming to her front door with rifles to take them to Poston, and being behind barbed wire in the middle of the desert. She reflects on this time in her life filled with anxiety through art, and is trying to understand her feelings about such a surreal part of her life. Mary Higashi relives the moment she entered the barracks and realized she would have to live with almost nothing. She also talks about how this handicapped her for life, as she

1908-404: The lease for the Horizon as early as 2011. In 2009, Tropicana Entertainment transferred the lease and the operating business of the Horizon back to an affiliate of Columbia Sussex. Tropicana was undergoing a bankruptcy reorganization and hoped to focus its efforts on its neighboring MontBleu Casino . In 2014, NevaOne LLC, a Park Cattle affiliate, acquired the Horizon's operations. NevaOne closed

1961-586: The life at Poston camp through a short digital video "Poston: A Cycle of Fear". The video was supported by the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation and will be available for viewing by visitors of the Memorial in Washington, DC. http://www.njamf.com/Poston/ Memoirs of the Japanese relocation told by a teacher at Poston Camp 1, "Dusty Exile" by Catherine Embree Harris, published by Mutual Publishing, 1999,

2014-443: The man were detained and under investigation. The community demanded the release of these two men, and their request was refused. Because of the denial of their request, workers went on strike on November 19. A compromise was reached by the director and the evacuees' Emergency Executive Council, ending the strike on November 24. Unlike the nine other concentration camps, the agricultural and animal-husbandry areas of Poston were within

2067-559: The perimeter fence. Schools and a number of other buildings were constructed by the internees. Many of the inhabitants participated in and created recreational activities, such as the Boy Scouts, sports teams, and jobs. Baseball teams were very common among the internees, as leagues were set up soon after opening. Scores and game summaries were recorded in the Poston daily press bulletin, along with other daily news. Some elements made life at Poston livable for internees, but their time at

2120-399: The posts deep into the ground They've strung out wires all the way around. With machine gun nests just over there And sentries and soldiers everywhere. We're trapped like rats in a wired cage, To fret and fume with impotent rage; Yonder whispers the lure of the night, But that DAMNED FENCE assails our sight. We seek the softness of the midnight air, But that DAMNED FENCE in

2173-564: The reservation. The passage on the back of the book reads "Twelve-year-old Sumiko's life can be divided into two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. Before the bombing, although she was lonely, she was used to being the only Japanese American in her class and she always had her family to comfort her. When the government forces all of the Japanese Americans living in California into internment camps, Sumiko soon discovers that

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2226-629: The rights to the Hard Rock brand in the Western United States. The property reopened as the Hard Rock on January 28, 2015, after $ 60 million of renovations. Paragon Gaming acquired a majority stake in the property in 2016. In 2023, Fertitta Entertainment bought the property from Paragon, and announced that it would be rebranded as a Golden Nugget casino. Del E. Webb Corporation The Del E. Webb Construction Company

2279-483: The war and aid the reservation's permanent population) on the War Department budget and with thousands of "volunteers". The combined peak population of the Poston camps was over 17,000, mostly from Southern California. At the time, Poston was the third-largest "city" in Arizona. It was built by Del Webb , who later became famous building Sun City, Arizona , and other retirement communities. The Poston facility

2332-631: The west, outside of the camp perimeter. Poston was built on the Colorado River Indian Reservation , over the objections of the Tribal Council, who refused to be a part of doing to others what had been done to their tribe. Army commanders and officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs , though, overruled the council, seeing the opportunity to improve infrastructure and agricultural development (which would remain after

2385-460: 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. Inspired by

2438-470: Was a construction company that was founded in 1928 and developed by Del Webb . Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona , United States, it became the Del E. Webb Corporation a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 1960. The same year, the corporation unveiled Sun City , outside Phoenix, as the first community designed for senior citizens. Many more Sun Cities were built by the corporation in

2491-509: Was also lacking, which led to avoidable death or disability. By the end of 1942, heating systems were still not in place and clothing allowances still had not been delivered. Japanese Americans in Poston were becoming increasingly frustrated with their new lives in the internment camp. Rising tensions came to a head in November 1942, sparked by the beating of a suspected informer on Saturday evening November 14. Two men suspected to have beaten

2544-697: Was chosen as the site for the relocation center, the Colorado River Indian Reservation Tribal Council adamantly opposed the use of their land because they did not want to be involved in inflicting the same injustice they had faced on the Japanese internees. The council was soon overridden, and the BIA and WRA jointly took control of 71,000 acres (29,000 ha) of tribal land and began construction in early 1942. Del Webb ( Del E. Webb Construction Company ) began building Poston I on March 27, and his workforce of 5,000 completed

2597-542: 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,

2650-544: Was named after Charles Debrille Poston , a government engineer who established the Colorado River Reservation in 1865 and planned an irrigation system to serve the needs of the Indian people who were to live there. A single fence surrounded all three camps, and the site was so remote that authorities considered building guard towers to be unnecessary. The thousands of internees and staff passed through

2703-444: Was never able to finish college. Lastly, Leon Uyeda gives the opposite side of the internment story, saying he somewhat enjoyed the camp. He liked being surrounded by other Japanese people, and not having to bombarded with racial hostility. The Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II, located in Washington, DC, features inscriptions of the names of those confined to the Poston center. Filmmaker Reed Leventis depicts

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2756-481: Was the largest (in terms of area) of the 10 American concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority during World War II . The site was composed of three separate camps arranged in a chain from north to south, three miles from each other. Internees named the camps Roasten, Toastin, and Dustin, based on their desert locations. The Colorado River was about 3 miles (4.8 km) to

2809-524: Was then Parker Dam, and many of these early arrivals volunteered to help complete the still-under-construction camps. Upon completion, the Poston site consisted of hundreds of residential barracks, a hospital, an administrative center, and guard and staff housing. The camp officially opened as the Colorado River Relocation Center on June 1, 1942, and the BIA relinquished its authority over Poston in 1943. Life at Poston for

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