Abraham E. Lefcourt
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Abraham E. Lefcourt (1877–1932),[1] better known as A.E. Lefcourt, was a prominent real estate developer in New York City in the 1920s. All but forgotten today, in his lifetime Lefcourt was known as one of the city's most prolific developers of Art Deco buildings.[2] Describing Lefcourt in a 1930 newspaper article, The New York Times said, "No other individual or building organization has constructed in its own behalf as many buildings as are in the Lefcourt Group." [3]
Lefcourt began his career as a newsboy and bootblack. He became a prominent figure in the New York garment industry when he assumed control of his employer's wholesale business. His forays into real-estate began in 1910 with a 12-story loft on West 25th Street. He built many more structures in the area, heralding the beginnings of the new Garment Center.
An entrepreneur, Lefcourt had numerous other business interests, including founding the Lefcourt Normandie National Bank, which eventually became a part of JP Morgan Chase.[4][5]
Notwithstanding his success and a net worth reported to have been as much as $100 million in 1928,[6] Lefcourt's empire began to unravel during the Depression, with his company going into foreclosure and his buildings being auctioned off.[7] In 1932, with creditors pursuing him and others accusing him of fraud, Lefcourt suffered a heart attack in his Savoy-Plaza Hotel apartment and died at the age of 55.[8]
[edit] Buildings
Among Lefcourt's more notable real estate development projects:
- Brill Building, 1619 Broadway, New York, NY [9]
- Lefcourt Building/Raymond Commerce Building, 1172-1182 Raymond Boulevard, Newark, NJ [10]
- Lefcourt Clothing Center, 275 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY [11]
- Lefcourt Colonial Building, 295 Madison Avenue, New York, NY [12][13]
- Lefcourt Empire Building, 989 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY [14]
- Lefcourt Madison Building, 16 East 34th Street, New York, NY [15]
- Lefcourt Manhattan Building, 1412 Broadway, New York, New York [16]
- Lefcourt National Building, 521 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon [17]
- Lefcourt Normandie Building, 1383 Broadway, New York, NY [18]
- Lefcourt State Building, 1375 Broadway, New York, NY [19]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Time magazine: "A.E. Lefcourt"
- ^ The City Review: Madison Avenue
- ^ NY Times: "Abraham Lefcourt"
- ^ NY Times: "A.E. Lefcourt Bank Formally Opened"
- ^ Scripophily: Lefcourt Normandie National Bank
- ^ NY Times: "A.E. Lefcourt"
- ^ NY Times: "Auction of Lefcourt National Building"
- ^ NY Times: A.E. Lefcourt Obituary
- ^ Brill Building
- ^ VirtualNewarkNJ.com
- ^ NY Times: "Streetscapes"
- ^ Time magazine: "Unfreezing Assets"
- ^ Skyscraperpage.com: Lefcourt Colonial Building
- ^ Skyscraperpage.com: Lefcourt Empire Building
- ^ Skyscraperpage.com: Lefcourt Madison Building
- ^ Skyscraperpage.com: Lefcourt Manhattan Building
- ^ Emporis- Lefcourt National Building,
- ^ Skyscraperpage.com: Lefcourt Normandie Building
- ^ Skyscraperpage.com: Lefcourt State Building
[edit] Sources
- "Historic Preservation Studio 1999", Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation] (archived 2008)
