Founded | 1972 |
---|---|
Founder | Howard Hughes |
Defunct | 1996 |
Fate | Acquired by The Rouse Company |
Summa Corporation was a holding company for the business interests of Howard Hughes after he sold the tool division of Hughes Tool Company in 1972. Its holdings included casino hotels, aviation businesses, and television channels. After Hughes's death in 1976, most of the company's assets were sold off, and it focused on developing the master-planned community of Summerlin, Nevada. Summa was renamed as The Howard Hughes Corporation in 1994. It was acquired by The Rouse Company in 1996.
This holding company contained Hughes' varied investments including:
Before 1972, Summa Corporation was named Hughes Tool Company. It was established in 1908 as a manufacturer of oil drilling tools. Under the ownership of Howard Hughes, the company expanded over the years into various other businesses, including aviation, media, and casino hotels.
In 1972, the company sold its tool business to investors via an initial public offering as a new entity named Hughes Tool Company. [1] [2] At that time, the parent company changed its name to Summa Corporation. [2] The name "Summa", Latin for "highest", was allegedly chosen by several of Hughes's employees without consulting him first. Hughes was allegedly dissatisfied, and preferred the name "HRH Properties", with the initials standing for both "Howard Robard Hughes" and "Hughes Resort Hotels", but his suggestion was ignored.
Howard Hughes died in 1976 at the age of 70, without a valid will. [3] Administrators were appointed, led by his cousin William Lummis. Under Lummis, Summa began to liquidate most of its operations. Summa's money-losing mining interests in Nevada were sold by the end of 1976, while KLAS-TV and Hughes Sports Network were both sold in 1978. Hughes Airwest was sold to Republic Airlines for $38.5 million in October 1980, [4] and Hughes Helicopters was sold to McDonnell Douglas for $470 million in January 1984. [5] The hotel and casino properties were gradually sold off during the 1980s. As its original businesses were sold, Summa recast itself as a real estate developer, using the vast tracts of undeveloped land Hughes had amassed around Las Vegas as a starting point.
In September 1994, Summa Corporation was renamed The Howard Hughes Corporation, both to honor Howard Hughes and to fulfill his original intentions of keeping his name on the business. [6]
In February 1996, Hughes's heirs sold the Howard Hughes Corporation to the Rouse Company for $520 million, plus half of any future profits from the company's undeveloped land holdings. [7]
The Rouse Company was, in turn, acquired by General Growth Properties in November 2004. [8] A new company named The Howard Hughes Corporation was spun off from GGP in 2010 and is now a developer of master-planned communities. [9]
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. was an American aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, investor, philanthropist and pilot. He was best known during his lifetime as one of the richest and most influential people in the world. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness.
Hughes Air Corporation, doing business as Hughes Airwest, was a local service carrier from 1970 to 1980 in the Western United States. It was backed by Howard Hughes' Summa Corporation. Its original name in 1968 was Air West and the air carrier was owned by Nick Bez. Hughes Airwest flew routes in the western U.S. and to several destinations in Mexico and Canada; its headquarters were on the grounds of San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in unincorporated San Mateo County, California.
MGM Resorts International is an American hospitality and entertainment company. Operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, Macau, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Sanya, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Park MGM.
Hughes Tool Company was an American manufacturer of drill bits. Founded in 1908, it was merged into Baker Hughes Incorporated in 1987.
Summerlin is a community in the Las Vegas Valley of Southern Nevada. It lies at the edge of the Spring Mountains and Red Rock Canyon to the west; it includes the census-designated place of Summerlin South, is partly within the official city limits of Las Vegas and partly within unincorporated Clark County. This community occupies over 22,500 acres and holds over 230 parks, more than two dozen public and private schools, 14 houses of worship, ten golf courses, three resort hotels, recreational facilities, retail and entertainment centers, well-established office parks, a medical center, and more.
Howard Hughes Holdings Inc., formerly the Howard Hughes Corporation, is a real estate development and management company based in The Woodlands, Texas. It was formed in 2010 as a spin-off from General Growth Properties (GGP). Most of its holdings are focused on several master-planned communities. It took its name from the original Howard Hughes Corporation, which had developed the planned community of Summerlin, Nevada, and later became a subsidiary of GGP.
The Landmark was a hotel and casino located in Winchester, Nevada, east of the Las Vegas Strip and across from the Las Vegas Convention Center. Frank Caroll, the project's original owner, purchased the property in 1961. Fremont Construction began work on the tower that September, while Caroll opened the adjacent Landmark Plaza shopping center and Landmark Apartments by the end of the year. The tower's completion was expected for early 1963, but because of a lack of financing, construction was stopped in 1962, with the resort approximately 80 percent complete. Up to 1969, the topped-off tower was the tallest building in Nevada until the completion of the International Hotel across the street.
The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was the fifth resort to open on the Strip, the first four being El Rancho Vegas, The New Frontier, Flamingo, and the El Rancho. It was situated between Desert Inn Road and Sands Avenue.
The New Frontier was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The property began as a casino and dance club known as Pair O' Dice, opened in 1931. It was sold in 1941, and incorporated into the Hotel Last Frontier, which began construction at the end of the year. The Hotel Last Frontier opened on October 30, 1942, as the second resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The western-themed property included 105 rooms, as well as the Little Church of the West. The resort was devised by R.E. Griffith and designed by his nephew, William J. Moore. Following Griffith's death in 1943, Moore took over ownership and added a western village in 1948. The village consisted of authentic Old West buildings from a collector and would also feature the newly built Silver Slipper casino, added in 1950.
Fashion Show is a shopping mall located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It was developed by Summa Corporation and Ernest W. Hahn, the latter also serving as general contractor. The mall features Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Macy's, Macy's Men's Store, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
The Castaways was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It began in the 1930s, as a small motel called Mountain View. It became the San Souci in 1939, and underwent several ownership changes in its early years. A hotel addition opened on August 21, 1955, when the property became the Sans Souci Hotel. A casino, showroom, and restaurant were eventually opened on October 23, 1957. These facilities closed less than a year later, due to financial problems, although the hotel continued operations. Following a bankruptcy reorganization, the shuttered facilities reopened in May 1960. However, the property soon closed due to further financial difficulties.
The Silver Slipper was a casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It opened on September 1, 1950. It was built just north of the Frontier hotel-casino, and they both shared the same ownership, although the Silver Slipper's gaming operations were later leased out. Businessman Howard Hughes leased the casino from 1968 until his death in 1976.
Affinity Interactive, formerly known as Herbst Gaming and Affinity Gaming, is an American private casino and sports betting company based in Paradise, Nevada. It operates eight casinos in Nevada, Missouri, and Iowa, and publishes the Daily Racing Form.
Mario Armond Zamparelli was an American artist and designer, best known for his connection with Howard Hughes.
The Downtown Summerlin shopping center or DTS is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment center. It is a part of the greater Downtown Summerlin area, a 400-acre (160 ha) development which lies within the community of Summerlin South on the western outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada. The shopping center contains 1,600,000 square feet (150,000 m2) and is located on 106 acres (43 ha).
Harold's Club, also spelled Harolds Club, was a casino in Downtown Reno, Nevada that was established in 1935. The casino closed in 1995 and the building was demolished in 1999. Harold's Club was the set for the 1955 movie 5 Against the House. An Ocean's 11 predecessor set in Reno, the movie provides the best view of Harold's Club casino.
Fitzgeralds Gaming was a gaming and hotel company based in Reno, Nevada, that operated four casinos under the Fitzgeralds brand. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2000, and subsequently sold all its properties.
Downtown Summerlin is a 400-acre (160 ha) mixed-use development in Summerlin, Nevada, a suburban area on the western outskirts of Las Vegas. It includes the Downtown Summerlin shopping center, office space, and several apartment properties. Downtown Summerlin was developed by The Howard Hughes Corporation, which also developed the Summerlin community.
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