Nationality United States Spouse(s) Sylvia Schofler Education Cooper Union Religion Judaism Role Architect | Occupation real estate developer Name Irwin Chanin Ethnicity Jewish Children Doris Chanin Freedman | |
Born October 29, 1891 Bronx, New York Died February 24, 1988, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States Structures Chanin Building, The Majestic, Richard Rodgers Theatre, The Century | ||
Irwin Salmon Chanin (29 October 1891 – 24 February 1988) was an American architect and real estate developer, best known for designing several Art Deco towers and Broadway theaters.
Contents
Biography
Irwin Chanin was born to a Jewish family, the son of an immigrant from Poland and an immigrant from Poltava. In 1915, he graduated from Cooper Union with a degree in civil engineering. In 1919, he and his brother Henry founded the Chanin Construction Company. In 1925, they built the 46th Street Theater, the first of six theaters built on Broadway. In 1930, they built a twin-towered housing cooperative skyscraper named The Majestic and then The Century. both on Central Park West. Other notable buildings include the Chanin Building, Richard Rodgers Theatre, the Lincoln Hotel (now Row NYC Hotel), the Beacon Hotel and Theater, and the World Apparel Center.
Chanin was also known for developing the "Green Acres" section of Valley Stream, NY. Ground broke in 1936 but only Phase I (known as the "old section") was completed before World War II. After the war construction resumed and the "new section" was completed by 1959. This section included the balance of the residential homes, the Forest Road Elementary School, the Green Acres Shopping Center (now, the Green Acres Mall) and the Green Acres Garden Apartments.
He was President of Chanin Theatres Corporation, and his brother Henry I. Chanin was Treasurer. In 1981, Cooper Union renamed its school of architecture after him.
Personal life
In 1921, Chanin married Sylvia Schofler; She died in 1976. Their children included sons Paul Richard Chanin, who died in 2009 and Marcy Chanin, who died in 1997 and daughters Doris Chanin Freedman, who died in 1981 and Joan Chanin Schwartz Irwin Chanin died on February 24, 1988. His funeral was held at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in Manhattan.