Arthur Rubloff (June 25, 1902 – May 24, 1986) was an American real estate developer who founded Arthur Rubloff & Co. and is credited with naming and developing North Michigan Avenue in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, into the "

Magnificent Mile The Magnificent Mile (sometimes locally abbreviated to the Mag Mile) is the approximately one-mile-long stretch of Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Oak Street (Chicago), Oak Street on the Near North Side ...

Biography

Rubloff was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family on June 25, 1902, in Duluth, Minnesota, the eldest of five children born to Solomon Rubloff, an immigrant from Russia who owned several jewelry and dry goods stores. The family moved to

Chisholm, Minnesota Chisholm is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,775 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city has been called "The Heart of the Iron Range" due to its location i ...

, but lost everything to a fire in 1908 which destroyed the town. In 1914, at the age of 12, Rubloff ran away to

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, where he worked as galley boy on the ''J.S. Stevenson'', an ore boat. In 1915, he moved to Cincinnati where he worked at a furniture manufacturer. In 1917, he moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where his parents had moved and worked for his father's ladies clothing manufacturing company. His parents' factory burned down and his father enlisted his son to lease some real estate he had accumulated and was serendipitously offered a job by the lessee who liked his gumption. In 1919, he went to work for Robert White & Co selling downtown office space in Chicago. In 1930, he went into business for himself with only $700, having squandered all the money he made. He named the company Arthur Rubloff & Co. His break came when he negotiated a complicated and large North Kansas City development project for investment-banking firm, Allen & Co. Using the proceeds from that transaction and leveraging his relationship with Allen and Co, he developed – in the late 1940s – Evergreen Plaza, one of the first shopping malls. He promoted, developed, and transformed North Michigan Avenue into the "

". He helped to developed the

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neighborhood in Chicago, and the Southland and Sun Valley projects in San Francisco as well as co-developing Carl Sandburg Village, the Ft. Dearborn Project, and proposing the North Loop project known as the Chicago 21 Plan. Sara Miller, later to win renown as a sculptor, was for many years an executive with Rubloff's firm. Rubloff had a private chauffeur for his business use with his goings and coming in the Chicago area. His private chauffeur was Michael Ciró Rizzo, an immigrant from Palermo, Italy. Rizzo was a trusting and hard worker to Mr. Rubloff. When Rizzo's granddaughter, Debra was married, October 2, 1982. Rubloff gifted the happy couple a set of Tiffany and Co., plates for their wedding present. Debra still has these plates today. Along with Mr. Rubloff's Hoyle Game book, with "Arthur Rubloff", engraved on the spine of the book. Rubloff estimated his net worth at $100 million.

Personal life

In 1934, he married Josephine Sheehan; she died in 1974. In 1980, he married New York native Mary (née Hilem) Taylor, former wife of actor Rod Taylor and adopted her daughter, Felicia Taylor. After Rubloff's death, Hilem married Florida real estate developer Lewis M. Schott. Rubloff died on May 24, 1986, at his home in Chicago. Services were held at Temple Sholom in Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubloff, Arthur American businesspeople in real estate 1902 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American Jews