Sam Israel
{{Short description|American businessman}}
{{other people||Samuel Israel (disambiguation){{!}}Samuel Israel}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Sam Israel
|image =
|caption =
|birth_name =
|birth_date = March 4, 1899
|birth_place = Rhodes, Greece
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|06|11|1899|03|04}}
|death_place = Seattle, Washington, United States
|nationality = American
|occupation = Real estate investor
|known_for = Founder of Samis Land Company
}}
Sam Israel (March 4, 1899 – June 11, 1994){{cite web|url=http://samisfoundation.org/about/|title=Sam Israel|publisher=Samis Foundation|accessdate=25 December 2017}}[http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=israEL&firstname=SAMUEL&start=21 Social Security Death Index at Rootsweb.com] Retrieved 1 December 2007. was an American real estate investor and landlord.
Biography
Israel was born to a Greek Jewish family[https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940613/1915396/sam-israel-95-owner-of-many-seattle-buildings-dies Seattle Times: "Sam Israel, 95, Owner Of Many Seattle Buildings, Dies" By Cathy Reiner] June 13, 1994 in Rhodes, then part of the Ottoman Empire, now part of Greece. He immigrated to the United States in 1919 and became a shoemaker in Seattle, Washington. After World War II, during which he had a military contract to repair combat boots at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, he began to invest in real estate. His holdings, many of them in the Pioneer Square historic district, were largely dilapidated and undesirable to the majority of investors. Through what Paul Dorpat in Pacific Northwest Magazine called Israel's "benign neglect,"Dorpat, Paul. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2003/0126/nowthen.html An Art-full Restoration], Pacific Northwest Magazine (a Sunday supplement to the Seattle Times), 26 January 2003. Retrieved 25 December 2017. many of these buildings survived to be renovated after his death in 1994.Scott, Maude. [http://www.djc.com/special/cmarket97/10020743.htm It's A New Day For The Samis Foundation], Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, February 28, 1997. Retrieved 25 December 2017. It was well known among Seattle artists that renting in an Israel building was good for art. He never raised the rent.Emily K. Alhadeff, Jewish in Seattle Magazine, The Legend of Sam Israel, August/September 2016
Image:Seattle - Washington Shoe Building 02.jpg
Israel established the Samis Land Company (now simply Samis) to manage his holdings. The name is based on his first and last names. In 1979, he established the Samis Foundation.
Israel spent much of his later years in Soap Lake, Washington, which was said to remind him of the land of Israel. He never married. He died in Seattle at age 95.
Legacy
The Samis Foundation is supported by Samis and has granted over $100 million toward "enhanc[ing] the quality and continuity of Jewish life in Washington State and the State of Israel." The foundation states that over 80% of its annual grants support Jewish education in Washington.
Samis currently owns over 500 parcels in Washington, including {{convert|16000|acre|km2}} of land outside Seattle. Within Seattle, Samis owns two blocks in Downtown and 11 historic buildings in Pioneer Square.[http://www.samis.com/ Samis]. Retrieved 25 December 2017. The Smith Tower was part of its portfolio from 1996 to 2006, and it currently owns the Collins Building, among other properties.Langston, Jennifer. [http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Smith-Tower-Seattle-s-first-skyscraper-sold-1200489.php Smith Tower, Seattle's first skyscraper, sold], Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 7 April 2006. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
References
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Category:American people of Greek-Jewish descent
Category:American businesspeople in real estate
Category:American real estate investors
Category:Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States
Category:Businesspeople from Seattle
Category:People from Soap Lake, Washington