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View of Minsk, 1912, closest city to Sam Eig's home town in Belarus. (Prokudin-Gorskiĭ photograph collection, Library of Congress)
Sam Eig was born near Minsk in the shtetl of Shmilovitz in what is now Belarus in November of 1898 (it was then part of Russia). He was of Jewish descent, but not much is known about his parents other than they sent him to America in 1914 so he could escape the war and pogroms. One source suggested his parents and several brothers were killed following his departure, presumably during the Russian Revolution. Sam later said when interviewed in 1972 that at that time he had a brother still living in Russia, and a sister who had left Russia to live in Israel.
Sam Eig was born near Minsk in the shtetl of Shmilovitz in what is now Belarus in November of 1898 (it was then part of Russia). He was of Jewish descent, but not much is known about his parents other than they sent him to America in 1914 so he could escape the war and pogroms. One source suggested his parents and several brothers were killed following his departure, presumably during the Russian Revolution. Sam later said when interviewed in 1972 that at that time he had a brother still living in Russia, and a sister who had left Russia to live in Israel.
Sam arrived in the United States at a port in Seattle, Washington, still a teenager. He was part of a wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants whose numbers by that point had swelled to 1.5 million arrivals. He immediately started working to support himself, traveling gradually across the country from Seattle to New York City, where he worked in the Plaza Hotel, finally settling in Washington, D.C. around 1916. He worked as a meat cutter at Union Station and the Soldier's Home, saving every penny he could.
Sam arrived in the United States at a port in Seattle, Washington, still a teenager. He was part of a wave of Eastern European Jewish immigrants whose numbers by that point had swelled to 1.5 million arrivals. He immediately started working to support himself, traveling gradually across the country from Seattle to New York City, where he worked in the Plaza Hotel, finally settling in Washington, D.C. around 1916. He worked as a meat cutter at Union Station and the Soldier's Home, saving every penny he could.
"I didn't ask anything from anybody. You had to work like the devil, and I did and I saved up a dollar. I came to this country when I was a kid. I didn't know anything. I got a job as a bus boy, then a waiter, then a helper."
"I didn't ask anything from anybody. You had to work like the devil, and I did and I saved up a dollar. I came to this country when I was a kid. I didn't know anything. I got a job as a bus boy, then a waiter, then a helper."
In the early 1920s, Sam scraped together all his saved money and invested in a grocery store, which he operated from 1922-1936. After the end of Prohibition, he expanded to liquor sales, establishing the Eig Liquor Store on Georgia Ave. in 1933.
In the early 1920s, Sam scraped together all his saved money and invested in a grocery store, which he operated from 1922-1936. After the end of Prohibition, he expanded to liquor sales, establishing the Eig Liquor Store on Georgia Ave. in 1933.
A typical District Grocery Store in DC, c.1940s. Though he eventually closed his own independent store, Sam Eig was later a shareholder in the DGS grocery chain.
He used his money to purchase real estate during the early suburbanization of Montgomery County in the 1930s and 1940s, investing in developments in Takoma Park and in Silver Spring. He purchased the Silver Spring Shopping Center in 1944, also constructing the Jeleff Building and the Eig Building in Silver Spring.
He used his money to purchase real estate during the early suburbanization of Montgomery County in the 1930s and 1940s, investing in developments in Takoma Park and in Silver Spring. He purchased the Silver Spring Shopping Center in 1944, also constructing the Jeleff Building and the Eig Building in Silver Spring.
"I was a young fellow. I believed in this country the moment I put my foot here. And I figured out when I was a youngster they can build buildings but they don't build land."
"I was a young fellow. I believed in this country the moment I put my foot here. And I figured out when I was a youngster they can build buildings but they don't build land."
IMMEig-brochure-web-sized.pdfAdvertising brochure for the Eig Building--- a modern, multi-story office building finished in 1944. At right, the iconic Silver Spring Shopping Center, which is still a landmark today. [Click the arrow icon at top right of the image to view the brochure in full]
His most visionary endeavor was the Washingtonian Towers (pictured here), built in 1966 near his previously established Washingtonian Motel and Country Club. Eig had already envisioned the high-rise landscape of suburban county living we take for granted today, but for the next 20-30 years, his ambitious tower loomed above grazing cows and plowed fields.
His most visionary endeavor was the Washingtonian Towers (pictured here), built in 1966 near his previously established Washingtonian Motel and Country Club. Eig had already envisioned the high-rise landscape of suburban county living we take for granted today, but for the next 20-30 years, his ambitious tower loomed above grazing cows and plowed fields.
A Jew himself, Sam felt a responsibility to provide for his community in the face of restrictive covenants in place throughout the developing areas of Montgomery County that prevented Jewish people from joining country clubs as well as purchasing property in certain neighborhoods. He donated land and money for the building of the county's first synagogue in 1949, as well as making philanthropic contributions to build the Montgomery County Jewish Community Center, the Red Cross Center, Holy Cross Hospital, and many other churches, particularly of the Catholic faith. He also built the iconic permanent dome structure of the Shady Grove Music Fair, following its first five years under a tent.
A Jew himself, Sam felt a responsibility to provide for his community in the face of restrictive covenants in place throughout the developing areas of Montgomery County that prevented Jewish people from joining country clubs as well as purchasing property in certain neighborhoods. He donated land and money for the building of the county's first synagogue in 1949, as well as making philanthropic contributions to build the Montgomery County Jewish Community Center, the Red Cross Center, Holy Cross Hospital, and many other churches, particularly of the Catholic faith. He also built the iconic permanent dome structure of the Shady Grove Music Fair, following its first five years under a tent.
Though he provided for his fellow Jews, he maintained restrictive covenants against Black buyers in many of his housing developments, including the Rock Creek Forest neighborhood, which he called “ideally located and sensibly restricted.” Many other developers in Montgomery County, with only a few exceptions, also maintained racial restrictions until the 1968 Fair Housing Act made them illegal.
Though he provided for his fellow Jews, he maintained restrictive covenants against Black buyers in many of his housing developments, including the Rock Creek Forest neighborhood, which he called “ideally located and sensibly restricted.” Many other developers in Montgomery County, with only a few exceptions, also maintained racial restrictions until the 1968 Fair Housing Act made them illegal.
Shady Grove Music Fair's unique theater in the round began in 1962 as a big-top tent (below left), then Sam Eig built the enclosed structure in 1967 (below right) with a rotating stage incorporated. The building was demolished in 1982, four years after the venue closed permanently. (Montgomery History)
Sam had two sons with his wife, Esther Cohen Eig (1895-1966): Blaine Herbert Eig (born 1922), who became a medical doctor, and Lawrence Sidney "Buddy" Eig (born 1926) who followed his father into real estate, forming the development company Eig and McKeever. The family attended temple at B'Nai Israel, the synagogue Sam helped to establish. Sam Eig died in 1982, leaving behind eleven grandchildren and at least ten great-grandchildren.
Sam had two sons with his wife, Esther Cohen Eig (1895-1966): Blaine Herbert Eig (born 1922), who became a medical doctor, and Lawrence Sidney "Buddy" Eig (born 1926) who followed his father into real estate, forming the development company Eig and McKeever. The family attended temple at B'Nai Israel, the synagogue Sam helped to establish. Sam Eig died in 1982, leaving behind eleven grandchildren and at least ten great-grandchildren.
"Remember: politicians come and go. The hard working professional men, the hard working farmer... they stay and their children carry on and their grandchildren carry on. These are the people who build the country."
"Remember: politicians come and go. The hard working professional men, the hard working farmer... they stay and their children carry on and their grandchildren carry on. These are the people who build the country."
Read more about Sam Eig's life and career from his oral history interview, conducted by John R. Foley III in 1972, preserved in the collections of Montgomery History.
Read more about Sam Eig's life and career from his oral history interview, conducted by John R. Foley III in 1972, preserved in the collections of Montgomery History.
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