A History of Sun City Center provided by The History Society of Sun City Center 813-642-2047     Our story begins with one of the largest traffic jams ever witnessed in southern Hillsborough County!  The grand opening of Del Webb’s Sun City had been advertised for weeks in the press and on radio and tv all over the country.  And when that first opening week arrived, 41,000 people came to see what this retirement community “experiment” was all about.     Del E. Webb, Jr. was a remarkable entrepreneur.  He had built a solid reputation in the heavy construction industry coast to coast and, in 1960, opened the successful first phase of the Sun City retirement community in Arizona.   The idea for a self-contained retire-ment community came to him, it is said, from a concept made popular in Scandinavia.  The plan was to  build a community of housing affordable to 5,000 professional and working class retirees surrounding a shopping center and recreational amenities.   Encircling  the retirement area would be an industrial park, with homes and schools for the employees and their families.         Later on, the workers employed in the industrial part of town would simply retire to the inner community with a minimum of upheaval.  When the population of the retirement community reached 5,000, another similar community would be built nearby.      Another driving factor was the concept of volunteerism.  The community would be overseen by volunteer leaders, boards and com-mittees.  Webb recognized that volunteers can “make it work”  because they are sincerely interested in the results.  It was already working in Arizona, so he knew it could work here.     But Del Webb did not visualize his Florida community as one strictly for retirees.  His printed advertisements constantly referred to “Senior Americans” as his target audience.  One sales map from 1963 clearly shows the location here for eight elementary schools, two junior high schools and two senior high schools — all on property that now encompasses Sun City Center, Kings Point, Freedom Plaza and the Villages of Cypress Creek near the Interstate highway.      The great success of his venture  in Phoenix, Arizona, starting in 1960, had prompted  Del Webb to seek out other sites in popular  retirement regions.  He admitted to a bias against building in Florida — his background was in the far west and he had heard of all the hurricanes here, the alligators and swamps.  But he was told there was a swath of land extending from the Tampa Bay area across the peninsula of Florida to the Atlantic Coast near Cape Canaveral where no hurricane had ever been recorded.  He also noted that the most densely populated area of the country was in the Boston-Washington corridor, and a retirement location closer to the east coast would be desirable.  Florida would provide the climate that might just attract that huge northeast clientele.     And legend has it that Del Webb’s mother suggested that she would probably retire to Florida.      In late 1960, Del Webb visited here, a 12,000 acre cattle ranch land running from the Manatee River on the south to just above 19th Avenue on the north, and from U.S. 301 on the east to the approximate present alignment of Interstate 75 on the west.     Del Webb was escorted across the gently rolling fields here by a cow-hand named Berry Roberts (for whom Berry Roberts Drive is named), and additional orientation was offered to the Del Webb Corporate staff on weekends by Gene Smith, who later would be our Maintenance Department Manager for years.      Webb saw miles of pastures, two watering holes, an enormous cow shed about where the outdoor pool near the Atrium Building is now, and great opportunity. Early in 1961, he purchased a substantial amount of the  property from the Universal Marion Corporation of Jacksonville, Florida.  Startup action was  fast and furious.        Groundbreaking was on May 10, 1961.  Del E. Webb’s birthdate was May 17.  I’ve wondered why he didn’t postpone the ceremony just a week later — you would think his staff might have insisted on this “good luck omen” or just as a  tribute to the owner as a PR gesture.      During the groundbreaking ceremony, Webb announced that the following New Year’s day would be the official opening for “Del Webb’s Sun City.”  He called for six property improvements to be completed during the re-maining seven and a half months to opening day:   ·         A variety of affordable model homes to be ready with paved and named streets, electric, water, sewer, stormwater-control and telephone utilities,   arts and crafts hobby facilities,  hotel with a good restaurant,   post office,  shopping center.       It was very fortunate that Webb had made the acquaintance of Ellsworth Simmons, Chairman of the Hillsborough County Commission.  Both men were avid golfers and, once the 9-hole golf course took shape, the men could discuss any county matters that applied to the new community with ease.   It is reported that, as long as Commissioner Simmons was in office, the Del Webb Corporation could pick up the phone, tell Mr. Simmons’ office about the need to plat another block of  homes, and the approvals were given a day or two later over lunch in Tampa.        Architecture?  Simple!  Webb  just took the plans for the Arts and Crafts building in Sun City, Arizona and copied it here.  Our original hotel was a direct copy from his Arizona Sun City; same for the Town Hall and all the first model homes along Cherry Hills Drive!  A 9-hole golf course, later to be named the North Lakes Golf Course, was also to be ready by New Year’s Day — Webb put his new friend Berry Roberts in as Manager to be sure the course would be done right and on time.        The post office was installed in the corner location of the new shopping plaza - in space now occupied by the Sun City Center Travel Service.      The only problem was what to call this new community since a town named ‘Sun City’ already existed just south of Ruskin.   The compromise name “Sun City Center” was approved by the postal authorities.  Nearly a decade later, some sales documents prepared by the developer still referred to this as “Del Webb’s Sun City, Florida.”  People who bought a home here received a welcoming letter, usually mailed back to their northern address, cautioning them to use “Sun City Center” as the  mailing address, with the Ruskin ZIP Code of 33570.  That letter also contained a membership card in the “Hi, Neighbor!” club. Webb felt that would establish the feeling of belonging here.        And now we look ahead to 2011 when we begin a year-long celebration of our 50th Anniversary...so there's more to come!        Say !  I have a great idea !  Since you got this far in reading about the history of Sun City Center, how would you like to join in the fun of reviewing old newspapers and documents with us for our next edition of the community's history?  Even if you just want to learn what this is all about, send a message to the webmaster (who is also our historian).  He'll tell you all about when and where we meet (very informal since once you're on a project you don't need meetings!).  Write to:   jbowker@tampabay.rr.com