A Process
A State of Mind
The House: A Brief History
In the late 1950's, Sandra Day O'Connor and her husband, John O'Connor, built a home on Denton Lane in Paradise Valley, Arizona. In the 1970's, O'Connor hospitality was legendary. Sandra was, at the time, serving as the majority leader of the Arizona State Senate.
O'Connor family life was centered around the home. Equally importantly, they quite often entertained with a purpose: that of inviting Arizona's state and community leaders to their home to build friendships and working partnerships, even when the leaders held fiercely differing points of view. Over supper, deep, direct and respectful conversation would combine with friendship and wit to reach consensus.
It is that spirit of civil civic engagement that defines the mission of the O'Connor House today.
Original House
When Sandra Day O’Connor and her husband, John O’Connor, returned to Arizona in the mid 1950’s to settle permanently, they wanted a home that was part of the spectacular Arizona landscape. The design of the home was a unique collaboration between the O’Connors and a young Frank Lloyd Wright inspired architect. They chose to build their family home using adobe bricks made from the mud of the Salt River, and they lovingly hand scraped the joints between every adobe brick to achieve their desired look. The floors were poured concrete, also a unique material in that era, where shag rugs were the rage.
The O’Connors’ intent was to connect the inside of the home to the outdoor areas, so in a style before its time, they created a “great room” that permitted ease of movement and conversation between the family, dining and kitchen areas. Justice O’Connor, who is an excellent chef, would often cook for her guests while engaging in lively conversation. The setting was relaxed and conducive to building friendships.
Sandra and John O’Connor’s hospitality was legendary in Arizona in the 1970’s. They often entertained with a purpose of building friendships and working partnerships among Arizona leaders with different points of view. As majority leader of the Arizona State Senate, Sandra Day O’Connor effectively used hospitality as a platform to build consensus. The photo to the right shows a dinner party circa 1975.
The O’Connor family lived in the home for 24 years, and raised their three sons there. Over the years, this modest structure has witnessed many historical events, including the interview which led to Justice O’Connor’s appointment to the Supreme Court, which occurred in the great room of their home.
Moving The O'Connor House
In 2006, Justice O’Connor learned that her family home (which the O’Connor no longer owned), was scheduled to be demolished. Friends – including Barbara Barrett and Gay Firestone Wray – decided to find a way to save this historic home by finding find a new home for the O'Connor House.
Owners, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Robson, donated the house to the Rio Salado Foundation, but it had to be moved to a new location. Even though the experts said it was impossible to move an old adobe structure, Elva Coor, founding Chair of the O'Connor House committee – working with Michele Robson, Jim Kitchell and Janie Ellis– persevered. (Janie's father had made the adobe bricks for the home from the mud of the Salt River in the 1950's). Once Janie was on board, the founding committee began raising the money for the move, and establishing a vision for use of the home. Janie Ellis phoned her good friend, Mayor Hugh Hallman about the project, and he offered a site for the home in Tempe's Papago Park, adjacent to the Arizona Historical Society Museum. Under Janie's direction, the home was disassembled, brick by brick, and with the help of John McCullough and Sundt Construction, was moved to its new home in July of 2009: to the site where the mud for the original adobe bricks was sourced. You can see the home today, just a few hundred feet from the museum.