History

It was built as a winter residence for William D. McCullough of Detroit in 1938, but it was acquired by Arthur and Louise Price in 1950. (Louise Price was the nephew of Dr. A. J. Chandler, who founded the city named after him.) In 2001, their daughter, Suzanne Price Propstra, donated the home to the city. By this time, it had been vacant and had become run down. Meanwhile, around the pueblo, major development was occurring, as Chandler Fashion Center

Chandler Fashion Center

Chandler Fashion Center is a regional shopping center located in the city of Chandler, Arizona, and is the second largest mall in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The mall is owned by Westcor, a subsidiary of The Macerich Company and was opened on October 19, 2001 with more than 180 stores and five...

 was under construction (to open in October 2002). The city began to renovate the property into a state-recognized visitors center which opened in 2007 after $850,000 had been spent on improvements. But financial troubles and "fail[ure] to connect with an audience" (according to the city museum administrator) forced its closure in 2009. That same year, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

In June 2011, it was announced that it will reopen this fall as an archive research center focusing on local history, office space for museum staffers (moving from the museum in downtown Chandler) and satellite exhibition space.