Charles Dilbeck
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Stevens Dilbeck (1907–1990) was an American architect who worked primarily in Dallas, Texas.
Dilbeck was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1907 and grew up working for his father's planing mill. At the age of 11, he designed and saw constructed a small church with a bell tower and Doric columns. He moved with his family to Tulsa at the age of 15, where he found work adapting standardized house plans for local builders.[1]
Career
Dilbeck attended Oklahoma A&M for two years before dropping out in 1929 to establish an architectural practice in Tulsa.[2]
After his practice failed during the Great Depression, Dilbeck moved to Dallas with the intention to quit architecture for a more lucrative venture. After starting out selling a burglar alarm he had designed himself, Dilbeck briefly partnered with local architect George Marble before opening an office in the newly built Highland Park Village shopping center in 1932.[1]
Dilbeck designed houses in the Dallas area until his retirement in 1969, particularly in the Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, East Dallas, and Oak Cliff.
In addition to houses, Dilbeck designed a number of apartment buildings, hotels, shopping centers, and resorts.[2]
Some of his notable commercial designs include the Belmont Hotel in West Dallas[3] and the Red Bryan's Smokehouse (currently El Ranchito) on Jefferson Ave in Oak Cliff.[4]
Dilbeck retired in 1969 and died on January 10, 1990.
