Sam Eig
Samuel Eig | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1899 |
| Died | 1982 (aged 82–83) |
| Nationality | Russian-American |
| Occupation | Real estate developer |
| Known for | Development of Silver Spring, Maryland |
Sam Eig (c. 1899 – 1982) was a Russian-American real estate developer active in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.[1][2]
Biography
Eig was born in Smilovichi, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire (present-day Belarus) to a Jewish family.[2] In 1914, he immigrated to the United States[1] arriving first in Seattle, Washington then New York City, New York and then in Washington, D.C.[1] He worked various jobs as a bellboy, busboy, construction worker, and butcher’s assistant.[1] After a failed investment in a grocery store, he opened a liquor store in the 1930s which was successful, enabling him to buy a distillery. Using the earnings from this business, he started to invest in real estate in then undeveloped Silver Spring, Maryland. In 1944, he purchased the Silver Spring Shopping Center; and in 1946, he built the Eig Building.[1] Eig was a proponent of further development in Silver Spring and was an active member of the Silver Spring Board of Trade.[1] In the late 1930s, he personally developed 30 housing lots in Rock Creek Forest, after being denied financing from local banks.[1] Aware that people preferred to move to places that were more established, Eig donated land for the construction of community centers and churches[1] including a Red Cross building and Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring.[3] Eig was successful and by the late 1940s, his real estate holdings were valued at over $100 million (worth over $1 billion in 2019).[1] He later expanded into hotels building the Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1957 and the Georgian Motel in Silver Spring in 1961.[1] Until the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, Eig used racially restrictive covenants to exclude African Americans and other racial minorities.[4] Eig referred to the whites-only Rock Creek Forest neighborhood as "ideally located and sensibly restricted."[5]
Sam Eig Highway, a continuation of Interstate 370, was named in his honor.[2] Eig died in 1982 at the age of 83.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Montgomery County Historical Society: "Immigration and Success - Samuel Eig" Archived 2014-10-22 at the Wayback Machine retrieved October 18, 2014
- ^ a b c Jewish Washington: "Real Estate Boom" retrieved September 18. 2014
- ^ Gaithersburgh: "Then and Now" retrieved October 18, 2014
- ^ "Silver Spring's Jewish history 'long and complicated'". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
- ^ "5 marks Jewish developers made on Montgomery County". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
