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The man responsible
for the original master plan for Fountain Hills and the creator of the
concept of placing the world's tallest fountain at its center, was also
an internationally known theme park developer. Disneyland became a new
form of family entertainment and the prototype for amusement theme parks
around the world.
Walt Disney placed Mr. Wood in charge
of the project. He was Disneyland's first employee and supervised site
selection in California, purchased the land, oversaw construction, the
opening in 1954 and its operation for the first year. He formed Marco
Engineering in 1956 and supervised the creation of Six Flags Over Texas
and Pleasure Island in Boston.
In 1961, his firm merged with McCulloch
Corporation. Robert McCulloch, Sr. had acquired some land at Lake Havasu
on the Colorado River. He had a vision of what the area could become.
He placed Mr. Wood in charge of the creation of Lake Havasu City and they
later purchased the London Bridge and moved it to their new city in western
Arizona. The area became an instant tourist attraction..
He created the master plans for two other
McCulloch planned cities -- Fountain Hills and Pueblo West, Colo. Mr.
Wood also founded the International Chili Society and was chairman of
the Committee of Publicly Owned Companies.
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