Introduction
Charles Emil Smith (March 28, 1901 – December 30, 1995) was a real estate developer and philanthropist in the Washington Metropolitan Area.
Biography
Smith (born Schmidoff), immigrated from Russia in 1911. He spoke only Yiddish when he arrived in the United States. He started as a developer in Brooklyn, but lost everything in the Great Depression.
He moved to Rockville, MD where he first developed apartments and later office buildings. He founded the Charles E. Smith Co. and developed the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia. He retired in 1967 and turned to philanthropy.
Philanthropy
He planned a complex in Rockville for Jewish agencies including the Hebrew Home for the Aged, the Jewish Social Service Agency and the Jewish Community Center. He was a trustee of George Washington University (GWU) from 1967 to 1976 as well as Chairman of the Committee on University Development. The Charles E. Smith Athletic Center at George Washington University is named in his honor. He played a key role in developing GW's branch campus in Loudoun County, Virginia.
His contributions to Jewish philanthropy include:
- Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
- Charles E. Smith Life Communities
- Charles E. Smith Family and Prof. Joel Elkes Laboratory for Collaborative Research in Psychobiology
- Charles E. Smith chair in Judaic studies at GWU
Smith held honorary doctorates from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Jewish Theological Seminary and George Washington University. In 1997 he was posthumously awarded an Honor Award from the National Building Museum alongside other community developers of Washington, D.C., including Morris Cafritz and Charles A. Horsky.
Writings
- Smith, Charles E.; David Bruce Smith; Peter Muller (1985). Building My Life. Washington, D. C.?: C.E. Smith. LCCN 86463574. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
- Smith, Charles E.; David Bruce Smith (1998). Building the Community: Memorable Events in my Life. Washington D.C.: C.E. Smith. LCCN 97181010.
- Smith, Charles E.; David Bruce Smith (c. 1993). Letters to my Children. LCCN 93204323.