Sam Eig
| Samuel Eig | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1899 Smilovichi, Russia |
| Died | 1982 (aged 82–83) United States |
| Nationality | Russian-American |
| Occupation | Real estate developer |
| Known for | Development of Silver Spring, Maryland |
| Net worth | $100,000,000 (1940) |
Sam Eig (c. 1899 – 1982) was an American real estate developer active in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
Eig was born in Smilovichi, Russia (now Belarus) to a Jewish family. In 1914, he immigrated to the United States arriving first in Seattle then New York City and then in Washington D.C.. He worked various jobs as a bellboy, busboy, construction worker, and butcher’s assistant. After a failed investment in a grocery store, he opened a liquor store in 1930s which was successful enabling him to buy a distillery. Using the earnings from this business, he started to invest in real estate in then undeveloped Silver Spring, Maryland. In 1944, he purchased the Silver Spring Shopping Center; and in 1946, he built the Eig Building. Eig was a proponent of further development in Silver Spring and was an active member of the Silver Spring Board of Trade. In the late 1930s, he personally developed 30 housing lots in Rock Creek Forest, after being denied financing from local banks. Aware that people preferred to move to places that were more established, Eig donated land for the construction of community centers and churches including a Red Cross building and Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. Eig was successful and by the late 1940s, his real estate holdings were valued at over $100 million. He later expanded into hotels building the Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1957 and the Georgian Motel in Silver Spring in 1961.
Sam Eig Highway, a continuation of Interstate 370, was named in his honor. Eig died in 1982 at the age of 83.
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