In the Sunday Times real estate section that week we encounter Fred Trump, Donald's father, and near antithesis. Here was a man, the son of a German immigrant, who made the family fortune building affordable, multi-family housing in the outer boroughs. No glitz. No glamor. Trump was concerned that shortages in building materials were holding up construction of a large project he was building in Brooklyn.
In other real estate news of significance:
Home appliance manufacturer Monitor Equipment Company had bought the Campagna mansion in the Riverdale section of the Bronx as its research headquarters. The 35-room Italian Renaissance style building stood on a two-acre hilltop estate overlooking the Hudson River, across from Wave Hill, now a public park. It had been built between 1928 and 1930 by Anthony Campagna for his own use. The Italian-born builder, philanthropist and art collector was an in-law of the Paterno family and like them had made a fortune constructing high-rise apartments in Manhattan during the 1920s. The Times noted that his former home was one of many great residences "deemed to have outlived usefulness as a private home because of its size and the consequent expense of upkeep." Throughout the metropolitan area, particularly in the nearby suburbs, similar residences were being converted to house research facilities, institutes and foundations. Riverdale had become an enclave of the city's elite between the wars, a suburban neighborhood within the city limits.
The first post-war industrial building in the city was nearing completion at 527-31 West Thirty-Fourth and 528-30 West 35th St. It would house the Blu-Stripe Blade Company. Manhattan was still home to manufacturing at this time.
New York Life Insurance Company had embarked on a broad post-war program of investment in large-scale housing. In March it had announced the acquisition of the 141 -acre Fresh Meadow Country Club in Flushing, Queens, as the site for a large rental housing community.The past week. it announced the acquisition of 16 acres in Princeton. Additional sites were expected to be announced shortly. The immediate need for housing was most acute near colleges due to the flood of returning veterans, many with families, to campus.
Toots Shor had taken a ground lease on adjoining property to his restaurant at 51-53 West 51st Street for expansion. Toots Shor's was a steak and potatoes place that was a big hangout for celebrities and sports figures. Shor would make some customers wait forever in a long line for tables. He discouraged them from bringing their wives. This was a male den where doxies and floozies were the preferred female companions.
The Westover Hotel on W 72nd St between Broadway and West End had new owners. It was one of the largest and most modern of the residential hotels on the West Side, with 429 rooms divided into 251 apartments with kitchenettes. Apartment hotels were numerous in Manhattan then, places where transients and new arrivals could set up house without the burden of a long-term lease.
The section also contained a classified section for real estate and employment ads.