The House That Was Built By Gum

Tuesdays live on ABC and Disney Plus. Dancing with the Stars is back. With hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. And we are so excited to host the new season. Dance!

And new stars. Tyson Beckford. Allison Hannigan. Ariana Maddox.

Adrian Peterson. Xochitl Gomez. Matt Walsh.

Lele Pons. Mauricio Hymanski. Jason Mraz. Charity Lawson. Harry Jowsey. Barry Williams. Mira Cervino.

And Jamie Lynn Spears. Dancing with the Stars, Tuesdays on ABC and Disney Plus next day on Hulu. The Whole Foods Festival is on at Whole Foods Market through October 3rd. Save on hundreds of culinary favorites like delectable cheeses, crackers, charcuterie, olives and chocolates for that perfectly elevated snack board. Class up the party even more with short ribs, caviar and produce on sale. And save on a huge selection of wine including those made with organically grown grapes starting at $6.99. Check out the Whole Foody Festival today. Terms apply. Must be 21 plus.

Please drink responsibly. With Luckyland Sluts, you can get lucky just about anywhere. This is your captain speaking. We've got clear runway and the weather is fine, but we're just going to circle up here a while and get lucky.

No, no, nothing like that. It's just these cash prizes add up quick. So I suggest you sit back, keep your tray table upright and start getting lucky. Play for free at luckylandsluts.com.

Are you feeling lucky? No purchase necessary, void where prohibited by law. 18 plus terms and conditions apply.

See website for details. Summer may be over, but the beach is open. Whether you're a longtime bachelor fan or have never seen a single show, this season of Bachelor in Paradise is for you. The premise of the show is pretty straightforward. You've got 20 beautiful singles living on a beach with one goal, to find long lasting love.

Bachelor in Paradise premieres Thursday 9, 8 central on ABC and stream on Hulu. This is our American stories and our next story. Well, it's about the Wrigley mansion in Phoenix, Arizona.

That's right. We tell stories about buildings. We've told stories about towns, about the toilet, about candy corn. In addition to all the other stories we tell, it was built by William Wrigley Jr. The man who invented, as you can probably guess, Wrigley's chewing gum. Judy Pearson is here to tell us the story of the building, the man who built it and so much more.

Take it away, Judy. In 1891, 30-year-old William Wrigley arrived in Chicago from Philadelphia. With $32, the only money he had to his name, about $900 today, he started the Wrigley's Scouring Soap Company. To entice housewives to try his soap, he included a box of baking powder with every purchase. Wrigley was soon shocked to discover that his baking powder was more popular than his soap, so he went into the baking soda business, adding two packages of chewing gum to each can. Again, his gift with purchase was more popular than his primary product, and Wrigley's chewing gum was born, producing spearmint, juicy fruit, and doublemint. The business grew, and so did Wrigley's fortune. In 1915, he spent $2.5 million telling people that chewing gum aided the digestion, and that chewing it was a pleasurable experience.

Remember, double your pleasure, double your fun with doublemint gum? Wrigley was a whirlwind of ideas. He never stopped innovating and reinventing himself, always ready for the next adventure. He bought a minority stake in the Chicago Cubs in 1916 and became the majority owner in 1921. Six years later, he changed the name of the team's ballpark to Wrigley Field. Wondering about the feasibility of shipping his chewing gum via the relatively new airplanes in 1919, Wrigley got the idea to drop packages connected to parachutes.

Dealers across the Midwest would then travel to the drop points, taking delivery of their merchandise. That same year, Wrigley bought the Santa Catalina Island Company. As had been the case with Wrigley's own ventures, the company came with a gift with purchase, the entire island, located off the coast of Los Angeles. With the dream of creating an enterprise that would help employ local residents, Wrigley improved the island with public utilities, new steam ships, a hotel, a casino, and extensive plantings of trees, shrubs, and flowers. By that time, Wrigley had ownership, full or partial, in 15 different companies around the country.

It was Arizona that next captured his heart. He bought a few mines in the state, but real estate held a special interest. Wrigley created a syndicate with three other men to purchase 150 acres along famed Camelback Road.

The purchase price was $100,000, a million and a half today, although today it's worth many times more than that. The land was adjacent to the newly opened Biltmore Hotel, in which Wrigley was also heavily invested. The Czar of Chewingum owned four very palatial homes, but in 1930 he began building something special on the 100-foot high La Colina Solana, the Sunny Hill. It would be an anniversary gift for Wrigley's wife, Ada, and oh what a home it was to be. The Mission Revival mansion would be nearly 17,000 square feet.

Set on 10 acres, it would have a 360-degree view of the Valley of the Sun below. The 30-foot high Foyer Rotunda would be adorned with gold leaf and hand-painted ceiling, and the floor below was laid with tiles made in Wrigley's Catalina Island estate kiln. The rest of the home had pegged oak floors covered in beautiful hand-woven Spanish rugs. The oak Steinway grand piano, to be placed in the living room, was one of only two in existence, doubling as a player piano.

And all of the chairs throughout the mansion were carefully crafted lower than normal to accommodate Ada's petite frame. Every doorknob, hinge, window fixture, and switch plate in the mansion would be brass, with the exception of those in the family bedrooms, they were sterling silver. The mansion took three years to reach its splendor. It was Wrigley's plan to spend the early months of 1932 there. But a few weeks after arriving in January, he was stricken with acute indigestion and died at the age of 70 in his bedroom atop the Sunny Hill.

The Wrigley mansion, as the locals called the home, remained a much-loved family destination. Ada suffered a stroke there, dying in 1957. And then, in 1973, the beautiful mansion was sold. Like a stray dog, she passed from one ill-fated owner to another. A developer who died of a heart attack, a savings and loan caught up in the 1980s scandal. Another developer who filed for bankruptcy. But prior to each failed ownership, her lovely rooms and grounds welcomed business conferences, dozens of brides and grooms, and celebrity parties. And then, the end of the line arrived for the Wrigley mansion.

In 1992, rumors reported that this graceful landmark would be demolished for condo construction. Enter another intriguing millionaire capitalist with a love of beautiful things. Geordie Hormel's family had founded Hormel Foods, based in Austin, Minnesota. The company's most famous product was the canned meat, Spam. Geordie loved music, owning a music studio in Los Angeles and playing multiple instruments. As a composer, he had written a number of well-known television theme songs and once recorded with his buddy Frank Zappa. Like William Wrigley, Geordie eventually found his way to Phoenix, where he bought the largest home in the state of Arizona. And not long after that purchase, he heard about the proposed fate of the mansion on the sunny hill. He called a realtor friend and requested a showing. In the first few minutes of his Wrigley mansion tour, Geordie was transported back to his childhood and the Wrigley's home reminded him of his own childhood home. Having turned that into a supper club, where he entertained guests with his accomplished piano playing, he knew he could do the same thing with this mansion. The beautiful stray dog won Geordie Hormel's heart.

He bought it immediately. Geordie and his wife, Jamie, began restoring the mansion and opened it as a private club. Geordie entertained Sunday brunch guests on the Steinway Grand, still in the living room.

He played happy birthday every Sunday because, as Geordie used to say, every day is someone's birthday. The family enjoyed the mansion as much as the public did. The Hormel children would sneak napkins out of the dining room and slide down the hill on them, and the pastry chefs could always be charmed into giving them treats. They celebrated birthdays and holidays at the mansion, and the Hormels even renewed their wedding vows there.

When Geordie died in 2006, Jamie became the mansion's proprietor. Continuing what her husband had begun, she has made it a world-class destination. She's brought the kitchen into the 21st century while lovingly updating rooms to former grandeur.

The spectacular wine cellar is well stocked, an outstanding Phoenix chef is at the helm in the kitchen, and the national awards keep rolling in. The Wrigley Mansion, and the Wrigley's in general, hold a special place in my heart. My mother was a die-hard and lifelong Chicago Cubs fan.

The baseball team William Wrigley bought in 1921. Living in Phoenix, I discovered the magical charm of the Wrigley Mansion shortly after the Hormels reopened it as a private club and restaurant. I took my father there for dinner when he came to Phoenix on a business trip. He was so taken with the history and the views that when he returned home, he and my mother hatched the idea of a surprise 40th birthday party for me to be held in the mansion on the Sunny Hill. Every time I walk into that majestic foyer, I'm reminded of that magical night in 1993 when Happy Birthday was played for me on that famed Steinway in the living room.

My mother died just a few weeks after my memorable Wrigley birthday gala and was never able to visit the Czar of Chewing Gum's beautiful Phoenix mansion, but I know she would chuckle at one particular detail. Through all the owners and renovations, one room remained just as William Wrigley created it. To the left of the hand-carved double front doors is a tiny closet with a small table and a telephone switchboard, vintage of course.

Today, it's assumed the butler used the room to call family members when visitors arrived. It has a unique silver sheen on the walls and the faint odor of mint. It is the gum room. It is wallpapered with foil from my favorite Wrigley Chewing Gum. Favorite Wrigley Chewing Gum. Doublemint.

The Wrigley Mansion story here on Our American Story. Judy was boring. Hello. Then, Judy discovered JumbaCasino.com.

It's my little escape. Now, Judy's the life of the party. Oh, baby. Mama's bringing home the bacon.

Whoa, take it easy, Judy. The Jumba life is for everybody. So, go to JumbaCasino.com and play over 100 casino-style games. Join today and play for free for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. JumbaCasino.com. No purchase necessary for you. We're prohibited by law. 18-plus terms and conditions apply. See website for details.