Marc Eidlitz
Marc Eidlitz | |
---|---|
Born | January 21, 1826 |
Died | April 15, 1892 | (aged 66)
Occupation | Builder |
Known for | founder of Marc Eidlitz & Son |
Children | 5 |
Parent(s) | Judith and Abraham Eidlitz |
Family | Leopold Eidlitz (brother) Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz (nephew) |
Marc Eidlitz (21 January 1826 – 15 April 1892) was a builder active in New York City, where he was prominent in the construction industry, in partnership with his son Otto Eidlitz (1860–1928).[1][2]
Biography
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/%28King1893NYC%29_pg842_MARC_EIDLITZ_%26_SON%2C_487_AND_489_FIFTH_AVENUE.jpg/220px-%28King1893NYC%29_pg842_MARC_EIDLITZ_%26_SON%2C_487_AND_489_FIFTH_AVENUE.jpg)
Marc was born Markus to a Jewish family in Prague, Bohemia. He emigrated to the United States in 1846 with his mother Judith Eidlitz after the death of his father Abraham. Having served a four-year apprenticeship, he set up in business for himself in 1852 - the year of his marriage - and founded the construction firm, Marc Eidlitz & Son in New York City.
The firm built the St. Regis Hotel and many other projects. Through his influence, the Masons Builders' Association of New York played a major role in founding the National Association of Builders. In New York, he was President of the Building Trades' Club and of the Germanic Savings Bank.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Otto_Eidlitz%2C_half-length_portrait%2C_standing%2C_facing_front_LCCN92504823.jpg/220px-Otto_Eidlitz%2C_half-length_portrait%2C_standing%2C_facing_front_LCCN92504823.jpg)
Eidlitz made his home at 123 East 72nd Street, where he died. He had four sons and a daughter. His son Otto Eidlitz took over the business after he died. His brother Leopold Eidlitz was a well-known architect, as was Leopold's son, Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz. Marc converted to Catholicism and kept close ties to the German immigrant community, becoming president of Germania Bank in 1888.[3]
Selected commercial commissions
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Astor_House_Building_1916.jpg/220px-Astor_House_Building_1916.jpg)
The following structures erected by Eidlitz were all in New York City, unless otherwise identified.
- A mission on 20th Street, commissioned by William Colgate
- Broadway Tabernacle (1857–58)
- Lord and Taylor Building, Broadway and Grand Street
- The German Hospital (now Lenox Hill Hospital at another site)
- Saint Vincent's Hospital
- Home of the Sisters of Bon Secours
- Church of the Incarnation, Madison Avenue and 35th Street
- Temple Emanu-El, former building at Fifth Avenue and 43rd Street
- St. George's clergy house, 16th Street
- Astor Library
- Steinway Hall
- Gallatin Bank
- Metropolitan Opera House (J. Cleaveland Cady, architect, 1883)
- Seamen's Savings Bank
- Eagle Fire Insurance Company
- Schermerhorn Building, 376 Lafayette Street (Henry J. Hardenbergh, architect, 1889)
- Astor Building
- Eden Musée
- Western Electric Building
- Lancashire Fire Insurance Company
- Empire Building, Broadway and Rector Street
- Germania Bank Building, 190 Bowery (Robert Maynicke, architect, 1898)
Private dwellings
[edit]- J. Pierpont Morgan House
- Ogden Goelet House
- Rober L. Stuart House
Further reading
[edit]Kathryn Holliday, Leopold Eidlitz: Architecture and Idealism in the Gilded Age (New York: W.W. Norton, 2008)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
References
[edit]- ^ Biographical information is drawn from his obituary, The New York Times, 16 April 1892.
- ^ "Delta Upsilon @ Cornell".
- ^ Kathryn E. Holliday Leopold Eidlitz: Architecture and Idealism in the Gilded Age. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008, pp. 29–30, 69