Albert M. Greenfield
A Philadelphia power broker who reshaped the city's skyline and broke social barriers, building a retail and real estate empire from the ground up.
1887–1967 (age 80)·American businessman·Birthday: August 4·The Lost Generation
Biography
Albert Greenfield arrived in Philadelphia as a teenage immigrant and saw a city ripe for transformation. Starting as a real estate messenger, he possessed an uncanny instinct for value and opportunity, assembling parcels of land that others overlooked. His empire, Consolidated American Insurance Company, became a sprawling web of interests that included department stores like Bonwit Teller, banks, hotels, and even the Loft Candy chain. More than just a builder of buildings, he was a builder of connections, forging alliances across the Protestant establishment that had long excluded Jewish businessmen like himself. Greenfield's influence extended into politics, where he was a kingmaker for mayors and a supporter of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. His story is the archetype of the self-made urban magnate, a man whose ambition literally built the modern Philadelphia skyline while challenging its old social order.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Albert was born in 1887, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Albert Was Born
The biggest hits of 1887
Albert's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1887Born
President: Grover Cleveland
1892Started school
President: Benjamin Harrison
1900Became a teenager
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1903Could drive
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1905Could vote
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Turned 21
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1917Turned 30
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1927Turned 40
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1937Turned 50
Hindenburg disaster; Golden Gate Bridge opens
Gas: $0.20/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" — Ella FitzgeraldBest Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
1947Turned 60
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1957Turned 70
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1967Turned 80
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
Key Achievements
- Developed the landmark Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS) building, the city's first modernist skyscraper.
- Built a vast retail network by acquiring and merging major department stores across the Eastern United States.
- Played a crucial financial and advisory role in the 1952 presidential campaign of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
- Served as the director of the Bankers Securities Corporation, a holding company for his diverse business interests.
Did You Know?
He was offered, but declined, the position of U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Eisenhower.
His company once owned the famous Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, site of the 1976 Legionnaires' disease outbreak.
He lost much of his fortune during the Great Depression but managed to rebuild it afterwards.
“A city's value is found in the corners others ignore.”
