Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist
Encyclopedia
Mary Louise Curtis Bok , was the founder of the Curtis Institute of Music
in Philadelphia. She was the only child of the magazine and newspaper magnate, Cyrus Curtis
and Louisa Knapp Curtis
, the founder and editor of the Ladies Home Journal.
's long tenure as editor of the magazine. In 1896, at age nineteen she married Bok, who was fourteen years her senior. The couple had two sons, Cary Curtis Bok and William Curtis Bok
. Her husband retired from the magazine in 1919 and they spent their winters in Florida, where they built the Bok Tower Gardens
near Lake Wales. The marriage of Mary Louise and Edward Bok lasted thirty-four years, ending when Edward died in 1930.
on how best to help musically gifted young people, Mrs. Bok purchased three mansions on Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square
and had them joined and renovated. She established a faculty of prominent performing artists and made several gifts to the institute, eventually leaving it with an endowment of $12 million.
She was the chief beneficiary of her father's estate, inheriting assests estimated at $18 to 20 million when he died in 1933. At this time she became the largest shareholder, director and a vice president of Curtis Publishing
She founded the Curtis Hall Arboretum
at the family residence in Wyncote, Pennsylvania
.
, becoming Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist. Together with one of her sons, Cary Bok, she controlled 32 percent of Curtis Publishing Company
through its final turbulent years. She held a seat on the board of directors but reportedly "rarely attended board meetings during these declining years - refusing either to sell the stocks they had held all their lives or to exercise the authority that those stocks gave them." Mrs. Zimbalist finally resigned her seat on the board of directors in 1967, a few years before the final dissolution of Curtis Publishing and her death.
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
in Philadelphia. She was the only child of the magazine and newspaper magnate, Cyrus Curtis
Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis
Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis was an American publisher of magazines and newspapers, including the Ladies' Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post.-Biography:...
and Louisa Knapp Curtis
Louisa Knapp Curtis
Louisa Knapp Curtis , sometimes known only as Louisa Knapp, was the author of a column, and later, the separate supplement included with the magazine, Tribune and Farmer, that in 1883 would become a separate magazine, the Ladies' Home Journal, which still is published.Her column in the Tribune and...
, the founder and editor of the Ladies Home Journal.
Married Edward Bok
Mary Louise, writing under her mother's maiden name (as Mary L. Knapp), at age thirteen was one of sixteen people on the staff of Ladies' Home Journal in 1890, the first year of Edward W. BokEdward W. Bok
Edward William Bok was a Dutch born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the Ladies Home Journal for thirty years...
's long tenure as editor of the magazine. In 1896, at age nineteen she married Bok, who was fourteen years her senior. The couple had two sons, Cary Curtis Bok and William Curtis Bok
Curtis Bok
William Curtis Bok was a Pennsylvania jurist, philanthropist and writer. Heir to an enormous fortune, he was also a devout Quaker and an avid sailor.-Biography:...
. Her husband retired from the magazine in 1919 and they spent their winters in Florida, where they built the Bok Tower Gardens
Bok Tower Gardens
Bok Tower Gardens is a botanical garden and bird sanctuary, located north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It consists of a 250-acre garden, the tall Singing Tower with its carillon bells, Pine Ridge Trail, Pinewood Estate, and a visitor center...
near Lake Wales. The marriage of Mary Louise and Edward Bok lasted thirty-four years, ending when Edward died in 1930.
Settlement Music School
Mary Louise became involved with the Settlement Music School at the age of 48. At the time, the school was focused on provided musical training to young immigrants. In 1917, she made a gift to the school of $150,000 for a Settlement Music House. The music house's goal was "Americanization among the foreign population of Philadelphia." A close friend of the Bok family, pianist Josef Hofmann, played a recital at the school's dedication. Today this facility on Queen Street in Philadelphia is known as the Mary Louise Curtis Branch.Curtis Institute of Music
In 1924 Mary Louise established the Curtis Institute of Music, which she named in honor of her father who also had a great interest in music. After consulting with musician friends, including Josef Hofmann and Leopold StokowskiLeopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
on how best to help musically gifted young people, Mrs. Bok purchased three mansions on Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century in central Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The park cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are...
and had them joined and renovated. She established a faculty of prominent performing artists and made several gifts to the institute, eventually leaving it with an endowment of $12 million.
She was the chief beneficiary of her father's estate, inheriting assests estimated at $18 to 20 million when he died in 1933. At this time she became the largest shareholder, director and a vice president of Curtis Publishing
Curtis Publishing Company
The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, The American Home,...
She founded the Curtis Hall Arboretum
Curtis Hall Arboretum
The Curtis Hall Arboretum, sometimes called Curtis Arboretum, is a forty-five-acre arboretum that is located at 1250 Church Road , Wyncote, Pennsylvania. The arboretum was founded by Mary Louise Curtis Bok, in honor of her father, Cyrus Curtis. The landscaping was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted...
at the family residence in Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Wyncote is a census-designated place in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,044 at the 2010 census...
.
Married Efrem Zimbalist
In 1943, she married the director of the Curtis Institute, violinist Efrem ZimbalistEfrem Zimbalist
Efrem Zimbalist, Sr. was one of the world's most prominent concert violinists, as well as a composer, teacher, conductor and a long-time director of the Curtis Institute of Music.-Early life:...
, becoming Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist. Together with one of her sons, Cary Bok, she controlled 32 percent of Curtis Publishing Company
Curtis Publishing Company
The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, The American Home,...
through its final turbulent years. She held a seat on the board of directors but reportedly "rarely attended board meetings during these declining years - refusing either to sell the stocks they had held all their lives or to exercise the authority that those stocks gave them." Mrs. Zimbalist finally resigned her seat on the board of directors in 1967, a few years before the final dissolution of Curtis Publishing and her death.