Seymour Durst

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Seymour Durst
Born
Seymour Bernard Durst

(1913-09-07)September 7, 1913
DiedMay 15, 1995(1995-05-15) (aged 81)
NationalityAmerican
Education University of Southern California
Known for National Debt Clock
Spouse
(m. 1940;died 1950)
Children4, including Robert Durst and Douglas Durst
Parent(s) Joseph Durst
Rose Friedwald

Seymour Bernard Durst (September 7, 1913 – May 15, 1995) was an American real estate investor and developer. He created the National Debt Clock. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Durst was born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City, [2] a son of Joseph Durst, a Jewish immigrant [3] from Gorlice, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (present-day Poland), [1] and Rose Friedwald. [2] [4] [5]

His father was a tailor who arrived penniless to the United States, eventually becoming a successful dress manufacturer and then expanding into real estate management and development. [1] His father was also active in the Jewish community, serving on the executive committee of the Jewish Education Association and serving as president of the Hebrew Free Loan Society for 27 years. He had four siblings: Roy, Alma, Edwin and David. [2] [1] In 1931, Durst graduated from the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, the Bronx. In 1935, he graduated from the University of Southern California, where he majored in accounting. [2]

Career

In 1940, Durst joined The Durst Organization, the real estate firm founded by his father. After his father's death in 1974, Seymour became more involved in the company. The company invested in Manhattan real estate, based upon Durst's belief that one should never buy anything one cannot walk to. [2]

While on holiday in Paris, France, in the early 1960s, Durst noticed a book on the history of New York City by a German author in a mom-and-pop bookstore. He later said, "I figured if a German wrote a book about NYC that was available in Paris, that this was an interesting subject indeed." He began to collect books, establishing a collection that came to be known as the Old York Library. Housed in a brownstone on East 48th street in midtown Manhattan in the 1970s, the library later moved to another brownstone at 120 East 61st Street. After Durst's death in May 1995, the library was moved to the City University of New York in the B. Altman Building across from the Empire State Building. It was later moved to Columbia University's Avery Architectural And Fine Arts Library where it is open to the public. [6]

Seymour Durst was vocal about his beliefs that the government should not interfere in real estate transactions. However, his son and successor, Douglas Durst, received interest-free, government-issued Liberty Bonds under Governor George Pataki, and also used eminent domain to facilitate the family's growing real estate interests. The former subsidized the cost of building massive projects in both midtown and downtown Manhattan, and the latter enabled the Durst family to take holdout properties on West 42nd Street, where 4 Times Square and 1 Bryant Park were built. [7] [8]

Durst was also concerned with the national debt. In 1989, Durst created and installed the National Debt Clock on a Durst Organization property in order to draw attention to the then-$2.7 trillion debt. [9]

Personal life

In 1940, he married Bernice Herstein. They had four children:

Bernice Herstein Durst (1918–1950) died in 1950 at the age of 32 as a result of falling or jumping off the roof of their family home in Scarsdale. It was never determined if the death was an accident or a suicide. Their son Robert has said that he witnessed the event; his brother, Douglas, has said that none of the children witnessed the accident. Durst never remarried. [13]

Legacy

After Durst's death, his son Douglas and nephew Jonathan (the son of his brother David) became more involved in the family business, The Durst Organization. [14]

Related Research Articles

4 Times Square is a 48-story skyscraper at Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located at 1472 Broadway, between 42nd and 43rd Streets, the building measures 809 ft (247 m) tall to its roof and 1,118 ft (341 m) tall to its antenna. The building was designed by Fox & Fowle and developed by the Durst Organization. 4 Times Square, and the Bank of America Tower to the east, occupy an entire city block.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank of America Tower (Manhattan)</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The Bank of America Tower, also known as 1 Bryant Park, is a 55-story skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is located at 1111 Avenue of the Americas between 42nd and 43rd Streets, diagonally opposite Bryant Park. The building was designed by Cookfox and Adamson Associates, and it was developed by the Durst Organization for Bank of America. With a height of 1,200 feet (370 m), the Bank of America Tower is the ninth tallest building in New York City and the tenth tallest building in the United States as of 2022.

ChaShaMa is a non-profit arts organization based in New York City. ChaShaMa nurtures artists by transforming unused property into affordable work and presentation space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Durst</span> American murderer (1943–2022)

Robert Alan Durst was an American real estate heir and convicted murderer. The conviction is now vacated due to California law. The eldest son of New York City real estate magnate Seymour Durst, he garnered attention as a suspect in the unsolved 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack; the 2000 murder of his longtime friend, Susan Berman; and the 2001 killing of neighbor Morris Black. Acquitted of murdering Black in 2003, Durst did not face further legal action until his participation in the 2015 documentary miniseries The Jinx led to him being charged with Berman's murder. Durst was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. He was also charged with McCormack's murder shortly after his sentencing, but died in 2022 before a trial could begin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tishman Speyer</span> American company that invests in real estate

Tishman Speyer Properties is an American multinational corporation based at 45 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. The conglomerate invests in high-profile real estate properties, has developed multiple buildings around the world, and has owned famous buildings and land plots, including the Chrysler Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Milstein</span> American real estate developer and philanthropist

Paul Milstein was an American real estate developer and philanthropist.

Harry B. Macklowe is an American real estate developer and investor based in New York City.

Durst is a surname of German origin, and may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Debt Clock</span> Debt display in Manhattan, New York

The National Debt Clock is a billboard-sized running total display that shows the United States gross national debt and each American family's share of the debt. As of 2017, it is installed on the western side of the Bank of America Tower, west of Sixth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets in Manhattan, New York City. It was the first debt clock installed anywhere.

The Luxor Hotel in New York City was built by the D.P.R. Construction Company and opened in February 1925. The establishment is located at 121-127 West 46th Street in Manhattan. Built for $1,250,000, the structure has eighty-four guest rooms with a large bath establishment. The baths operated in connection with the hotel dormitories.

TheDurst Organization is one of the oldest family-run commercial and residential real estate companies in New York City. Established in 1915, the company is owned and operated by the third generation of the Durst family. Durst is the owner, manager, and builder of 13 million square feet of premier Manhattan office towers. The Durst residential portfolio has 3,400 units across 3 million square feet. Durst is recognized as a world leader in the development of high-performance and environmentally advanced buildings where people live, work, and thrive. It is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). Forbes magazine estimates the Durst family fortune at $8.1 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Durst</span> American real estate investor and developer (born 1944)

Douglas Durst is an American real estate investor and developer. He has been the president of The Durst Organization since 1992.

Joseph Durst was an American real estate developer, founder of the Durst Organization, and patriarch of the Durst family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Lane Hotel (Manhattan)</span> Hotel in Manhattan, New York

The Park Lane Hotel is a luxury hotel at 36 Central Park South, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Constructed in 1971, the hotel was designed by Emery Roth & Sons for real estate developer Harry Helmsley. The hotel operates under the ownership of Steve Witkoff's real estate investment firm, the Witkoff Group. A supertall skyscraper has been planned for the site, though that has been placed on hold.

Benjamin Winter Sr. was a real estate developer in New York City and founder of Winter Incorporated. Winter served as president of the American Federation of Polish Jews.

<i>The Jinx</i> (TV series) 2015 documentary TV series

The Jinx is an American true crime documentary television series about New York real estate heir Robert Durst, a convicted murderer. The first season, subtitled The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, debuted on HBO on February 8, 2015, and it consists of six episodes.

Frederick Phineas Rose (1923–1999) was an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and member of the Rose family.

Bernice Herstein was an American socialite, the wife of investor Seymour Durst and mother of their four children Robert, Douglas, Wendy and Thomas Durst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutton 58</span> Residential skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

Sutton 58 is a residential skyscraper in the Sutton Place neighborhood of Midtown East, Manhattan in New York City.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Durst Organization". Durst.org. Archived from the original on 2015-12-25. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Oser, Alan S. (May 20, 1995). "Seymour B. Durst, Real-Estate Developer Who Led Growth on West Side, Dies at 81". The New York Times.
  3. Wall Street Journal "Taking the Helm to Change City Landscape" January 10, 2011
  4. Museum of the City of New York: "Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Durst (née Rose Friedwald) with their daughter" retrieved May 23, 2016
  5. Bagli, Charles V. (May 16, 2016). "David M. Durst, Developer of Manhattan Towers, Dies at 90". The New York Times . Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  6. https://www.durst.org/about/oldyork
  7. "The Durst Organization". Durst.org. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  8. "His Midtown Plan Got A Federal Boost". NY Daily News. 2005-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
  9. Daniels, Lee A. (November 8, 1991). "Chronicle". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  10. "Law & Order" Hands Free (TV Episode 2004) - IMDb
  11. Law & Order: SVU Is Doing a Robert Durst Episode, Hot Mic and All
  12. Bagli, Charles V. (2021-10-14). "Robert Durst Sentenced to Life in Prison for Friend's Murder". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  13. Traub, James (October 6, 2002). "The Dursts Have Odd Properties", The New York Times, October 6, 2002; accessed August 24, 2016.
  14. "Family Fortunes". Forbes.com. 1998. Archived from the original on January 24, 2001. Retrieved 2015-12-24.

Further reading