Robert Whittle Dowling was born in New York City. His father, Robert Emmett Dowling, was the president of the City Investing real estate firm.
He made the first recorded swim around Manhattan in 1915. (in 13 hours 45 minutes). Following his father’s death in 1943, he took over his father’s business.
Despite the fact that Dowling had no formal education beyond high school, his advice was sought for the design and establishment of the real estate ventures Parkchester, Stuyvesant Town, and Peter Cooper Village.
All three ventures marked a departure from the traditional New York City grid in order to create housing developments within a campus setting. Dowling was honored with a Special Tony Award in 1948 for his contributions to theater as the owner of the Fulton Theatre, Morosco Theatre, Coronet Theatre, and Gaiety Theatre.
He was one of the developers who transformed the Globe Movie Theatre into a legitimate Broadway theatre, now known as the Lunt-Fontaine Theatre, in 1957. He was one of the original Sound of Music producers.
Dowling, a friend of Adelphi University dean Allyn P. Robinson, provided a $3 million grant in 1968, allowing the Adelphi campus in Oakdale, New York, to become self-sufficient and renamed Dowling College. Dowling College closed its doors in 2016.
Robert Dowling’s cause of death: How did die?
Dowling died Friday at his Santa Monica home after a brief battle with cancer, according to a family spokesperson.
