In January 1914, Charles and Warren McArthur, formed a partnership, The McArthur Brothers Mercantile Co., later changed to the McArthur Brothers Dodge Agency. By 1929 it had grown it into the largest dealership in the Southwest and sold many makes of automobiles. Their influence stretched across the state and then some.The Brothers turned one of their Dodge trucks into an RV adding bunks, seating and even traveling with a supply car and Chef to cook out and camp out under the stars. They offered these Wonderbus tours to tourists who wanted to explore the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. Sinclair Lewis was one of the first guests to explore the Tucson area in the Wonderbus as he was writing one of his books.
In the early 1920’s, The McArthurs started the first radio station in Arizona, KFAD (Kan’t Fool A Dodge), now KTAR. They would travel around Phoenix to outlying farm communities and give free radios to farmers, encouraging them to tune into their broadcasts of the weather reports.
Always cross-promoting themselves, they’d also run radio advertisements for their Dodge truck dealerships on KFAD.
The success of the Wonderbus tours enabled the McArthurs to realize the opportunity for Arizona to become a tourist destination so they decided to build a hotel and they would run their Wonderbus tours from the hotel.
They encouraged their older brother, Albert Chase McArthur, to move to Phoenix in 1924 to begin plans for what became the Arizona Biltmore.
The hotel opened in February 1929 and shortly thereafter, the Stock Market crashed. It was after the Crash that the brothers sold KFAD to the Arizona Republic who renamed it KTAR (Keep Taking Arizona Republic) and the hotel transferred ownership to William Wrigley who had been a majority investor.
As the Arizona Biltmore celebrates its 80th year, we salute other Arizona businesses, such as KTAR Radio who also benefitted from the McArthur Brothers' entrepreneurial spirit! Happy Anniversary KTAR!
(Wonderbus photo courtesy of ASU Archives: Gussy Thomas Smith Collection)
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