On October 19, 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store
opened, in Dallas, Texas. At a time when most video stores
were small-scale operations featuring a limited selection of
titles, Blockbuster opened with some 8,000 tapes displayed
on shelves around the store and a computerized check-out
process.
The first store was a success and Blockbuster expanded
rapidly, eventually becoming one of the world’s largest
providers of in-home movies and game entertainment,
before eventually filing for bankruptcy in 2010.
Blockbuster was founded by David Cook, who had previously
owned a business that provided computer software services
to the oil and gas industry in Texas.
Cook saw the potential in the video-rental business and after
opening the first Blockbuster in 1985, he added three more
stores the following year.
In 1987, he sold part of the business to a group of investors
that included Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management,
Inc., the world’s biggest garbage disposal company.
Founder David Cook.
As of August 2018, the last Blockbuster store is in Bend,
Oregon.
