Walkabout: Louis J. Horowitz, Builder, Part 2

It takes a certain kind of individual to come to this country at 17, without a penny, and then, ten years later, own a portfolio of buildings that include some of Brooklyn Heights’ largest and best residential hotels and luxury apartment buildings.

Some men would be content with that success, and then, as now, this would be nothing to sneeze at. But for Louis Horowitz, a serious Brooklyn real estate player at the age of twenty-seven, this was only the beginning.

His business acumen and real estate dealings had caught the attention of the men at the Title Guarantee and Trust Company, one of New York’s richest banks dealing in real estate and banking.

Title Guarantee, which had offices on Court Street, as well as its headquarters on Liberty Street in lower Manhattan, along with some Standard Oil interests were interested in a building company called Thompson-Starrett, which by 1903, was large enough to have projects across the country, but was not being run efficiently, with poor management and practices.

Title had a controlling stock interest, and recruited Louis Horowitz to come to Thompson-Starrett as a financial man, and also as a manager to whip the company back into shape, competitive enough to land the big contracts.

Louis took over in 1903, and never looked back. His first coup was to land the contract to build a large Sears and Roebuck plant in Chicago.

He got the contract by proposing that Sears only pay him $1 in advance, as he was so sure of his company that he would guarantee their work without the usual advance.

By 1905, he had been promoted to vice-president and general manager, and in 1910, he became president of Thompson-Starrett, where he remained the chief executive for thirty-one years, leaving only at his retirement in 1934.

And what a career it was. His most spectacular achievement was to land the contract to build the Woolworth Building, Cass Gilbert’s 1913 masterpiece in lower Manhattan, and for almost 20 years, the world’s tallest building.

Mr. Woolworth was not an easy man to deal with, and was notoriously cheap.

Woolworth, who paid for the 13.5 million dollar building entirely in cash, initially tried to get Thompson-Starrett to build the building for free, stating that the publicity and fame garnered from the experience was payment enough.

Horowitz held firm, however, and Woolworth eventually paid the company the previously agreed upon fee of $300K.

In the famous sculptures in the building’s lobby, which portray Woolworth, Gilbert, the chief engineer, Gunvald Aus, and others, Horowitz is portrayed on the telephone, haranguing a contractor.

After his retirement, Horowitz wrote a memoir about building the Woolworth Building, as well as other skyscrapers, in a 1937 book called Towers of New York.

More iconic Manhattan buildings followed: the New York Herald Tribune Building, the Municipal Building, the Equitable office building, the Chrysler Building, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, and the Gimbel Brother’s Department Stores, both here and in Philadelphia.

Outside of New York, Thompson-Starrett was involved in building a smelting plant for the Guggenheim mines in Chile, and built Union Station in Washington, DC, Palmer House in Chicago and a residence for John D. Rockefeller in Pocantico Hills, NY.

The company, in association with other contractors, also had a hand in building the Grand Coulee Dam. H

is participation in the deal that allowed the Gimbels to acquire the land on 33rd and Broadway in 1909, for their flagship store, led to a friendship with Bernard Gimbel, eventually leading him to a seat on the board of directors in 1928, until 1953.

In 1917, he was appointed Director of Foreign Relief of the American Red Cross, becoming the liaison between the Red Cross abroad and in the US.

But when America entered World War I, Louis Horowitz had to give up that position when he was appointed the Assistant Chief of Ordinance, in charge of tanks.

He had complete authority over the engineering, manufacture and inspection of tanks for the US Army. After the war ended, he was back at Thompson-Starrett, which had grown under his direction into one of the largest building companies in the country, with projects all over the world.

Horowitz’s interests were not just in his work. He was a philanthropist and educator, as well.

In the late 1920’s, he persuaded MIT to begin a new engineering program specifically for building construction, seeing the need for engineering specialists, as taller and taller buildings, made of steel and concrete, challenged a new generation of builders and engineers.

In 1922, he and his wife, Mary, established the Louis J. and Mary E. Horowitz Foundation for educational and charitable causes.

The foundation established courses on engineering and building practices at MIT, Yale and Union College.

During his life Louis Horowitz received several honorary university degrees, as well as a citation from the National Conference of Christians and Jews for his work promoting improved relations between religious, racial and ethnic groups.

In 1956, at the age of 81, Louis J. Horowitz died of lung cancer. He had been hospitalized in Palm Beach, Florida. His will stipulated that $9 million be left to New York University, a total shock to that institution, and at the time, the largest gift in its history.

The money was left with the provision that it be used for the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the New York University-Bellevue Medical Center.

The university would use the money on research, patient care and education. The rest of his fortune was left to his wife, family, and select employees and staff.

Although he left Brooklyn Heights behind when he took control of Thompson-Starrett, in 1905, Louis Horowitz left a legacy in our borough, with buildings that are still with us and flourishing, with some of them, like the Florence Court Apartments, highly desirable and expensive residences to this day.

His business savvy enabled him to grow and expand Thompson-Starrett into a huge, successful company that would eventually be traded to other corporations, would absorb companies into itself as well, and diversify, while still building across the world.

As of 1973, the company was still going strong, but has since gone dormant. They had a hand in building some of the most iconic and important buildings, not only here in NY, but across the country, and under Horowitz achieved their greatest successes and greatest projects.

Although he is virtually unknown now, his achievements are right there in our city streets, in Brooklyn Heights, on Manhattan’s skyline, in our nation’s capital, and around the world. A legacy that would do anyone proud.