Sol Atlas

Sol G. Atlas
BornMarch 15, 1907
DiedJuly 30, 1973 (age 66)
Manhasset, New York
NationalityAmerican
OccupationReal estate developer
SpouseEdythe Samuels
ChildrenSandra Atlas Bass
Parent(s)Fanny "Faigel" Anczkowski Atlas
Abraham Atlas

Sol Geoffrey Atlas (1907–1973) was an American real estate developer.

Biography

Atlas was the son of Fanny "Faigel" (née Anczkowski) and Abraham Atlas (formerly Atlasowicz).[1] He dropped out of high school and went to work with his father.[2] In 1959, he bid $671,000 for Ellis Island and proposed to turn it into a $55 million resort consisting of a 600‐room hotel, marina, music shell, tennis courts, swimming pools and skating rinks; the government turned down his bid.[3] He partnered with John P. McGrath on numerous projects in Manhattan including the 50-story 1 New York Plaza and the 40-story 2 New York Plaza near Battery Park.[1] He was responsible for the Miracle Mile center at Manhasset; the North Shore Center in Great Neck; the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers; the Essex Green Shopping Center in West Orange, New Jersey; and the Connecticut Post Mall at Milford, Connecticut.[1][4][5] He also built 200 East End Avenue, which was the first air‐conditioned apartment building in the city.[1]

Atlas was a founder of the Inter Council of Shopping Centers; and was a lecturer at Yale University Law School and for the New York Board of Real Estate Appraisers.[1] In 1969, Yeshiva University named him "Man of the Year" and he received the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Founders Award.[1]

He was active in the United Jewish Appeal and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.[2]

Personal life

In 1927,[2] he married Edythe Samuels; they had a daughter, Sandra Atlas Bass.[1] Atlas lived in Kings Point, New York.[1] He died of a stroke on July 30, 1973, at North Shore Hospital in Manhasset, New York.[1] Services were held at Temple Beth-El in Great Neck.[6] His wife died in 1978.[7] His daughter is the owner of the Sol G. Atlas Realty Company and is a philanthropist.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sol Atlas Dies; Build was 66". The New York Times. July 31, 1973.
  2. ^ a b c "Atlas, Builder Dies, 66". The Daily Item. July 31, 1973 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Novak, Matt (June 18, 2012). "The 1958 Plan to Turn Ellis Island Into a Vacation Resort". Smithsonian Magazine.
  4. ^ "Shopping Center Set for Milford", New York Times, July 29, 1956
  5. ^ Goldstein, Judith S. (September 1, 2006). Inventing Great Neck: Jewish Identity and the American Dream. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0813538846.
  6. ^ "Sol Atlas, 'Miracle' Builder". Newsday. August 1, 1973 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "ATLAS-Edythe nee Samuels". The New York Times. June 13, 1978. Edythe Atlas nee Samuels beloved wife of the late Sol G. cherished, adored, dearest mother of Sandy Atlas Bass, blessed grandmother of Bruce, Scott and Kathy Ornstein after a long illness. Services at Temple Beth‐El, Old Mill Rd. Great Neck
  8. ^ "Honored for living a life of philanthropy". The Island Now. December 31, 2016.