One More Puzzle Piece
Wylys Help Fulfill Arts District Dream

The Dallas Morning News
May 5, 2004


As the story goes, Dallas philanthropist Charles Wyly inherited his love of the arts from his mother, who ran a dance studio in his native Louisiana.

The Pelican State's loss has become Dallas' gain.

Decades later, the young arts lover turned successful businessman has put his money where his heart is: by giving $20 million to the proposed 600-seat theater in Dallas' Arts District.

The gift from Mr. Wyly and his wife, Dee, continues the momentum toward transforming downtown into a major destination for cultural arts lovers. The Nasher Sculpture Center opened last year to international acclaim, joining such mainstays as the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center and the Dallas Museum of Art.

Now with the Wyly family's contribution, the next big piece of downtown's cultural landscape - the proposed $275 million Dallas Center for the Performing Arts - stays firmly on course.

The Wyly family's generosity shouldn't be underestimated. The gift is second only to Margot and Bill Winspear's $42 million donation to the center's opera house two years ago and brings to $162 million the amount of cash and pledges raised for the entire project. The performing arts center could be under construction as soon as next year and open in 2009.

Over the years, the vision of a more prominent Arts District has encountered more rough starts and stops than a student driver. With the help of civic-minded donors like the Wyly and Winspear families, it's within sight.