The City Center District is an area in north-central downtown Dallas , Texas ( USA ). It lies south of the Arts District , north of the Main Street District , northwest of Deep Ellum , southwest of Bryan Place and east of the West End Historic District . The district contains a large concentration of downtown commercial space which prior to 1950 had been concentrated along Main Street. The district also contains remnants of Theatre Row, the historical entertainment area along Elm Street which contained theatres such as the Majestic Theatre .
23-593: Republic Center is a mixed-use complex at 300 N. Ervay Street and 325 N. St. Paul Street in the City Center District of downtown Dallas , Texas ( USA ), adjacent to Thanks-giving Square . The complex is located diagonally across the street from DART 's St. Paul Station , which serves its Blue , Red , Orange , and Green light rail lines. It also contains part of the Dallas Pedestrian Network , with shops and restaurants in
46-639: A soap factory, and later sold vegetables grown on his family farm as a market trader. He subsequently worked at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Hoblitzelle met Edward McMechin, a businessman who suggested he invest in vaudeville theaters, in 1904. By 1905, Hoblitzelle and his brother George K. co-founded the Interstate Theaters Company. The company operated vaudeville theaters in Texas, although it
69-462: A structural steel frame resulting in a lighter and energy efficient building. The banking lobby featured new techniques in engineering to create a column-free lobby where upper floors had to be hung from above. The lobby was finished with exquisite marble, inlaid wood and 3,000 square feet (280 m) of pure gold leaf. Also incorporated within the building were innovations such as underground drive-through banking and valet parking. The elevators inside
92-608: A year later, the building was surpassed by Elm Place as the tallest building in Dallas. Republic Center Tower III , an 8-story building with a Dallas Pedestrian Network retail concourse below, was added in 1980. It replaced the historic 20-story Medical Arts Building which was razed in 1978. With the completion of the third phase, the Republic Center consisted of an entire city block bounded by Ervay, Bryan, St. Paul and Pacific Streets. In 1985 RepublicBank Corp., now one of
115-464: Is a prime example of mid century modern skyscraper design. The buildings are clad in interlocking aluminum plates which incorporate Republic National Bank's four-pointed star symbol. The building was designed by architects Harrison & Abramovitz , who in 1953 had just completed the thirty story Alcoa Building in Pittsburgh . The design of Republic Center integrated the use of aluminum with
138-651: Is located at the corner of Oak Lawn Avenue and Gilbert Avenue. Providing early education for three-year-olds through eighth grade, Holy Trinity is the oldest continually operating Catholic school in North Texas. Residents are also served by First Baptist Academy of Dallas , a Biblically-integrated , college preparatory K-12 school located in the city center district of downtown Dallas. 32°47′08″N 96°47′47″W / 32.78549°N 96.79638°W / 32.78549; -96.79638 Karl Hoblitzelle Karl Hoblitzelle (October 22, 1879 – March 8, 1967)
161-587: Is served by the Dallas Independent School District . The neighborhood schools for downtown are outside of the loop. Four elementary schools— City Park , Sam Houston , Hope Medrano , and Ignacio Zaragoza ; three middle schools— Billy Earl Dade , Thomas J. Rusk , and Alex W. Spence ; and two high schools— James Madison and North Dallas , serve the district. Private Schools Holy Trinity Catholic School has served Dallas' central neighborhoods since 1914 and
184-807: The St. Louis Globe-Democrat . He eventually had nine brothers and three sisters. Hoblitzelle was of Swiss, Austrian and English descent on his paternal side and of Irish, English and French descent on his maternal side. His ancestors were settlers who fought in the American Revolutionary War . His paternal great-grandfather, Samuel Ogle was the Governor of Maryland. Hoblitzelle graduated from high school in St. Louis, but his parents could not afford to send him to college. Hoblitzelle began his career working in real estate for his uncle; he worked in
207-588: The National Register of Historic Places in 2005. In 1997 new owners acquired the block and the complex was renovated. Republic Center Tower I was renovated in 2005 to house 229 residential units. The first units opened in January 2007 and the building's name changed to Gables Republic Tower. Republic Center Towers II & III remain active office buildings, while the old banking lobbies and ground floors are leased as office and retail space. The complex
230-544: The United States Army to show patriotic films in his theaters. In 1951, Hoblitzelle sold the company to United Paramount (later known as American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres , followed by Capital Cities/ABC Inc. , now a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company ). However, he "retained management rights in 165 theaters". Hoblitzelle was the first to add sound to movie theaters in the Southwest (1930), and
253-820: The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center . Karl Hoblitzelle was born on October 22, 1879, in St. Louis, Missouri . His father, Clarence Linden Hoblitzelle, was a veteran of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War . His mother was Ida Adelaide Knapp. His maternal grandfather, Colonel George Knapp, was the founder of the Missouri Gazette , later known as the Missouri Republican and finally
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#1732782394611276-628: The 602 ft (183 m) tall Republic National Bank Building became the tallest building in Dallas and west of the Mississippi River at its completion in 1954. The skyscraper included an elaborate banking pavilion that stretched to Pacific Avenue. It remained the tallest building on the Dallas skyline until it was surpassed by the First National Bank Tower in 1965. As the bank expanded, in 1964 it sought to reclaim
299-725: The Dallas Symphony Society, and the Dallas Grand Opera Association. Additionally, he co-founded the Southwestern Medical Foundation, which supported the construction of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Hoblitzelle was the chairman of the Hockaday School , a private academy in Dallas. He also served on the executive committee of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, on
322-471: The board for Republic National Bank from 1945 to 1965, are set in bronze at the Ervay Street entrance: "This building is dedicated to the principle that no institution can long endure unless it serves faithfully and unselfishly its country, its state and community." Gables Republic Tower is 36-stories and has a roof height of 452 feet (138 m), but when its 150-foot (46 m) spire is included,
345-533: The board of directors of Texas Tech University in Lubbock , and on the board of trustees of Texas A&M University in College Station . He also made charitable contributions to the University of Texas . Hoblitzelle married Esther Thomas, later known as Esther Walker , a singer who predeceased him in 1943. They resided in Dallas, Texas. Hoblitzelle died on March 8, 1967, in Dallas. His funeral
368-478: The building reaches a height of 602 feet (183 m). Currently, it is the 11th-tallest building in the city when the spire is included. Without the spire, it is the 21st-tallest. Republic Center Tower II is 50-stories and has a roof height of 598 feet (182 m), making it the 11th-tallest building in Dallas by roof-height (the building is 12th-tallest with regards to adjacent Gables Republic Tower's spire). City Center District The City Center District
391-451: The complex speed at a rate of 1,400 feet (430 m) a minute, making them among the fastest in the nation. At the time of completion, the spire atop Gables Republic Tower (an abstraction of the four-pointed star and referred to as the "rocket") contained a rotating beacon of light. This was later turned off due to taller surrounding buildings, but today the spire is floodlit from below. The following words by Karl Hoblitzelle , chairman of
414-792: The first in the United States to add air conditioning (1922). Hoblitzelle was also the chairman of Hoblitzelle Properties, a real estate conglomerate, and the Republic National Bank. Hoblitzelle founded the Hoblitzelle Foundation in 1942. He was the founder of the Texas Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization for the promotion of Texan culture. He also served on the boards of the Dallas Art Association,
437-412: The largest banks in the Southwest, announced plans to construct a 60-story, 1,400,000-square-foot (130,000 m) building across the street on land now designated for Pacific Plaza Park . Plans were terminated in 1987 when rival InterFirst Corp. acquired the company, and Republic Center lost most of its tenants during the ensuing savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. The building complex was listed on
460-571: The lower levels of the building and is connected to the Bullington Truck Terminal . The Republic National Bank Building (later known as Republic Center Tower I and now Gables Republic Tower ) was constructed as a 36-story skyscraper for the headquarters of Republic National Bank, which had previously been located at the Davis Building . Seeking to build higher than their rival's Mercantile National Bank Building ,
483-500: The tallest-in-Dallas title. The bank hired architects Harrell & Hamilton to achieve this by designing a taller companion to adjacent Republic Center I. However, height limit was restricted by the FAA . Upon completion in 1964, Republic Center Tower II was only tallest-in-Dallas on some lists. The 150-foot (46 m) spire on the original 1954 Republic Center gave that structure a 4-foot (1.2 m) edge in terms of spire height. Less than
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#1732782394611506-415: Was an American theater owner, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of the Interstate Theaters Company, a chain of vaudeville theaters (later movie theaters), now a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company . He was the first theater owner to add air conditioning to movie theaters in the United States, and the first to add sound in the Southwest. He also helped support the construction of
529-734: Was headquartered in Missouri. It later became a chain of movie theaters. One of them was the Majestic Theatre in Dallas; another was the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio . More theaters were opened in Fort Worth , Waco and Houston as well as Shreveport, Louisiana , Birmingham, Alabama , Little Rock, Arkansas , and Wichita, Kansas . Hoblitzelle sold the company to RKO Pictures in 1930; however, he purchased it again in 1933. During World War II, Hoblitzelle worked with
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