Tony Goldman (December 6, 1943 – September 11, 2012) was an American

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

and arts visionary.

Early life and education

Goldman was born to a single mother in Wilmington,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

(Goldman's biological father was overseas in the military during World War II). He was adopted at birth by Tillie and Charles Goldman, who named him Richard Anthony Goldman and raised him on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

faith. He has two step-siblings, a brother and a sister. In 1965, he graduated with a B.A. in drama from

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

, located in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Career

Goldman was instrumental in the refurbishment of the architecturally significant vicinity of

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

; the

Wynwood Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Wynwood is known for being an entertainment district, with artwork, restaurants, breweries, clothing stores, dance venues, among other retail options. Formerly an industrial district, the area is now ...

district of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida; the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, neighborhood of

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

; and 13th Street in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. After school, he worked for his uncle who had a real estate business. In 1968, he started his own real estate company, Goldman Properties. In 1976, Goldman was attracted to the historic cast-iron architecture of Manhattan neighborhood

and decided to invest and rehabilitate buildings in the area. He bought and renovated 18 buildings in the area and opened restaurants to attract young people to the neighborhood. While attending a conference in Miami in 1985, Goldman toured the neglected art deco buildings of Miami Beach with historic preservationists. Seeing the potential of the city, he began buying one building a month for 18 months. Although other properties in the area were already being rehabilitated, it has been said that "Tony was the central person in getting

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the fi ...

going." By the mid-2000s, Goldman began buying buildings in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, another neglected area where he saw potential. He worked with art dealer

Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ( ...

to launch Wynwood Walls, a large permanent collection of outdoor murals. He also opened a restaurant and performance studio to help generate interest in the area. Goldman was also responsible for the launching of the Bowery Mural, an outdoor exhibition space in New York City on a wall located on the corner of

Houston Street Houston Street ( ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in t ...

and the

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...

Award

Goldman was awarded the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award from the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

in 2010 for lifetime achievement.

Personal life and death

In 1966, Goldman married Janet Ehrlich, a schoolteacher; they had two children: Jessica Goldman Srebnick and Joey Goldman. The couple divorced in 1977 but later remarried in 1986. Goldman died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on September 11, 2012, at age 68, in New York City. Services were held at Temple Emanu-El in

. His daughter succeeded him as CEO of Goldman properties. When he was in his 50s, he reunited with his biological parents, Shirley and Ray Meyers, who had married after Ray's deployment during World War II. He has two biological brothers and one sister.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman, Tony 1943 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American adoptees American company founders 20th-century American Jews American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from Delaware Businesspeople from New York City Emerson College alumni People from Wilmington, Delaware Real estate and property developers People from the Upper East Side 21st-century American Jews

Early life and education

Career

Award

Personal life and death

See also

References