Harold D. Uris (May 26, 1905 – March 28, 1982) was an American real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist who co-founded with his brother Percy Uris, the

Uris Buildings Corporation Uris Buildings Corporation was a New York City commercial real estate development company created by Harold and Percy Uris in 1960 from a predecessor private partnership. They retained 60% ownership in the corporation. One of the last building ...

Biography

Uris 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, the son of Sadie (née Copland) and Harris Uris, founder of an ornamental

ironwork Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil, or architectural feature made of iron, especially one used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork: wrought iron and cast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000 BC, it was th ...

factory.Kihss, Peter
"HAROLD URIS, SKYSCRAPER DEVELOPER AND PHILANTHROPIST, IS DEAD AT 76"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', March 29, 1982. Accessed January 11, 2011.Palm Beach Daily News: "Percy Uris Rites Held"
November 23, 1971 After earning a

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1925, Harold joined his brother, Percy, who had a 1920 business degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and their father in developing residential real estate. After WWII, the brothers focused on commercial development, with Harold handling the construction and Percy the financial aspects. Claiming to be the largest private developers in New York City, the Uris Brothers primarily used

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Emery Roth Emery Roth (, died August 20, 1948) was a Hungarian-American architect of Hungarian-Jewish descent who designed many New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 1930s, incorporating Beaux-Arts and Art Deco details. His sons co ...

. In 1960, they created Uris Buildings Corp. as a real estate investment company. One of the last buildings the brothers built together was the Uris Building housing the Uris Theater.Columbia University Libraries: "Percy and Harold D. Uris papers"
retrieved march 23, 2014 Soon after Percy's death in 1971, Harold sold the corporation to

Kinney National Company Kinney Services Inc. was an American conglomerate company that existed from 1961 to 1972. Kinney Services was established as a holding company and originated from a joint venture between a funeral business and parking company. After Mergers and ...

for $115 million, but the assets were soon foreclosed in NY's real estate recession. UrisLibrary24

Harold and Percy Uris created the Uris Brothers Foundation in 1956, and gave money to Cornell, Columbia, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Harold Uris was a Cornell trustee from 1967 to 1972, and was an influential member of Cornell's Buildings and Properties Committee. Two buildings bear his name on Cornell's Ithaca campus. A social sciences building built in 1972 was named for Uris and his brother Percy. Earlier in 1962, the main University Library building was renamed Uris Library. In 1998, the Uris Brothers Foundation was dissolved after donating all its remaining assets: $10 million to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, $10 million to the

Central Park Conservancy The Central Park Conservancy is an American private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages New York City's Central Park under a contract with the government of New York City and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and opera ...

, $3 million to the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, $3 million to Thirteen/WNET, $2.5 million to

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

, and $1.5 million to the

New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

. In 1983, Uris donated $10 million to establish the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center of Education at the

Personal life

Uris was married to Ruth Chinitz;Bethlehem Synagogue: "Our Stained Glass Windows" By Hazzan Marlena Fuerstman
retrieved March 23, 2014 they had four daughters, Judith Haber, Susan Halpern, Linda Sanger and Jane Nye. He died on March 28, 1982, at the age 76, at St. Mary's Hospital in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

. Services were held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.

External links

Percy and Harold D. Uris papers
at the

Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, the world's largest architecture library, is located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in New York City. Serving Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uris, Harold 1905 births 1982 deaths Businesspeople from New York City Cornell University College of Engineering alumni 20th-century American businesspeople American real estate and property developers Philanthropists from New York (state) 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews