Mitchell Wolfson

Wolfson was born in 1900 in Key West, Florida.[1][2] He went to school in Key West and at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York, and then graduated from Columbia University.[1] After school, he went to work for the East Coast Wholesale Corp in Miami, founded by his father in 1884.[1]

In 1925, he partnered with his brother-in-law, Sidney Meyer, forming the Wolfson-Meyer Theater Company and began construction on a state of the art theater in downtown Miami.[3][1] The Capital Theatre was completed in 1926 at the cost of $300,000 and featured an early form of air conditioning.[1] They built the company into a business conglomerate using the portmanteau, Wometco Enterprises.[2] In 1949, Wometco founded the first television station in Miami, WTVJ.[1] Wometco went on to own and operate the largest chain of movie theaters in South Florida, six television stations, a cable television company, a soft drink bottling franchise, and tourist attractions including the Miami Seaquarium.[2] At the time of his death, Wometco had over $500 million in sales.[2]

Wolfson served two terms as city councilman in Miami Beach, Florida, before being elected its first Jewish mayor in 1943.[2][4] He resigned after one term to fight Nazi Germany in World War II.[5]

He was married to Frances Meyer (December 16, 1906 – May 9, 1980); they had two sons, Mitchell Wolfson Jr. and Louis Wolfson II. Wolfson died on January 28, 1983, at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami.[2]