Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1921 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Did two watercolors for Mr. Hoblitzelle, which I trust will be pleasing to him and his wife.” This was immediately after Moses painted the asbestos curtain and decorated Hoblitzelle’s new Majestic Theatre in 1921.
Much has been written about Karl St. John Hoblitzelle, namesake of the Hoblitzelle Foundation.
The following write up about Hoblitzelle is included as part of the foundation’s history (https://hoblitzelle.org/about):
“Karl St. John Hoblitzelle was born in St. Louis in 1879. While serving as an event manager at the St. Louis World Fair in his early 20s, Karl Hoblitzelle met performers and concession operators who indicated the south, in particular Texas, lacked venues to showcase their work and talent. Upon the fair’s closing in 1903, Karl Hoblitzelle came to Dallas, Texas with $2,500 and began to build a chain of vaudeville theaters. At its peak, Interstate Theater Company held 160 theaters across Texas and the Southeast. These theaters were soon transformed into movie houses, and the success of this entertainment business created financial resources which he invested in the growing oil and gas, real estate, and banking industries in Texas.
Karl Hoblitzelle married Esther Thomas in 1920, a Broadway starlet who had performed under the name of “Esther Walker” and come to Dallas to perform at one of the theaters. Both were active in the social, civic, and cultural activities of Dallas, and did not have any descendants.
Prudent management of their financial assets resulted in the accumulation of significant wealth, which upon the death of Mrs. Hoblitzelle in 1943 and Mr. Hoblitzelle in 1967, became the corpus of Hoblitzelle Foundation.
For more information about the history of Karl Hoblitzelle, please refer to the book published by Paul W. Harris, President and CEO from 1986-2017: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b33b0daec4eb7c0b38e600e/t/5b48f821f950b785d85bde19/1531508870948/Hoblitzelle75thAnniversaryBook2018.pdf ”
It was likely that Moses first met Karl St. John Hoblitzelle at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Moses attended the event with his wife Ella, checking on several attractions delivered by the Sosman & Landis Studio for the event. Moses frequently gifted a painted to client’s he considered good friends by the end of a project. It is no surprise that Hoblitzelle was the recipient of two watercolor paintings. I wonder where they are now?
To be continued…
