END MARK

Dallas’ Theater Magnate

KARL HOBLITZELLE

Oct. 22, 1879–March 8, 1967

story by WILL MADDOX

PHILANTHROPIC IMPACT

Karl Hoblitzelle and his wife, Esther Walker, contributed 42 grants that totaled more than $1 million each to K various Dallas causes. arl st. john hoblitzelle’s life changed when he worked at the World’s Fair in his hometown of St. Louis. It was there that he met several performers with plenty of talent but nowhere to perform. After the fair closed, he moved to Dallas with $2,500 to get into entertainment. He built vaudeville theaters throughout Texas in the early 1900s and founded Interstate Amusement Co. in 1905. At its height, the venture owned 160 venues, including Majestic Theater in downtown Dallas. Hoblitzelle was the firt to add air conditioning to his theaters and the firt to add sound in the Southwest. The company ultimately sold in the 1950s to what now is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Co. He and his wife established the Hoblitzelle Foundation in 1942 and provided more than $252 million to Dallas causes, including 3,400 grants. Causes have ranged from medical and social services to education and the arts. In the 1950s, when it was difficult for Black Dallasites to get financing to ow homes, Hoblitzelle made a $217,000 loan to the Dallas Interracial Association, which provided financing for Black buyers in the amilton Park neighborhood. He co-founded Southwestern Medical Foundation and helped develop the UT Southwestern campus. Buildings at the Hockaday School and UT Dallas are named for him, as is Hoblitzelle Drive in Hamilton Park.

TOGETHER, WE MAKE INCREDIBLE HAPPEN.

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CIO/CTO OF THE YEAR

Chris Akeroyd Senior Vice President, Information Services, and Chief Information Officer | Children’s Health

INNOVATION IN HEALTHCARE

The Heart Center at Children’s Health