Many native Baltimoreans and others are quite familiar with the name of Joseph Meyerhoff, which is synonymous with the downtown symphony hall at 1212 Cathedral Street as well as with many Jewish and civic organizations.
In local circles, Meyerhoff’s name is as recognizable as Coca-Cola or Old Bay Seasoning. Interestingly, my friend, the late Marc Messing, once told me that Meyerhoff actually disliked seeing his name engraved on buildings and “in lights.” Decades ago, Messing worked for Meyerhoff in various capacities and became a close confidant of the real estate developer, fundraiser, community leader and philanthropist.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Meyerhoff, who was born in the now-Ukrainian city of Poltava, lived most of his life in Baltimore and passed away at the age of 85.
Meyerhoff was the son of Oscar and Hannah Meyerhoff and born into an impoverished family of six children.
“He was seven years old when his family left [the Russian Empire] and arrived in the United States and onward to Baltimore,” reads a profile that appeared in the Baltimore Sun.
In his 2000 book “Jewish Baltimore: A Family History” (Johns Hopkins University Press), Gilbert Sandler wrote, “In time, Oscar and Hannah went into the grocery and kosher meat business, and Oscar also became a part-time cantor. Joseph attended the accelerated P.S. [Public School] 49 (directly across from Cathedral Street from what, seven decades later, would be the site of the symphony hall bearing his name).”
In 1915, Joe Meyerhoff graduated from Baltimore City College and attended law school at night, even though he never wanted to be a lawyer. He also worked in his family business.
During law school, Meyerhoff became active in local civic and Zionistic organizations. He served as a member of the Baltimore Zionistic Membership Committee, which he assisted in doubling in size from 1,000 to 2,000, according to The Evening Sun.
In 1921, Meyerhoff married Rebecca Witten and they had three children: Peggy Meyerhoff Pearlstone, Harvey “Bud” Meyerhoff and Eleanor “Ellie” Meyerhoff Katz.
In the summer of 1923, Meyerhoff began working for his brother, Morris, building houses on Glen Avenue in Northwest Baltimore. A little while later, Meyerhoff opened his own homebuilding business, Monumental Properties.
Initially, he built rowhomes in the city but moved on to single-family detached homes in the Guilford, Homeland and Roland Park communities.
In 1942, Meyerhoff’s daughter Peggy married Julius H. Pearlstone Jr. Throughout the generations, the Meyerhoff and Pearlstone families have been pillars of the local Jewish community and major philanthropists to myriad causes and organizations.
During World War II, Meyerhoff began focusing more on building in Northwest Baltimore and in Baltimore County, specifically the One Slade high-rise luxury apartment building. In 1982, he estimated that he built “more than 15,000 individual homes in the Baltimore area and 17,000 apartments in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida.” That’s in addition to developing 19 local shopping centers, including Edmondson Village, Eastpoint, Westview and Hillendale.
Monumental Properties thrived for nearly four decades until sold for an estimated $180 million.
Notably, Meyerhoff was a strong financial supporter of the State of Israel. In 1951, he helped establish the Israel Bonds organization, which has raised billions of dollars for development in Israel. He also served as chairman of the national campaign cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal.
Among the Israeli centers of higher learning that he supported over the decades were Tel Aviv University and the Weitzman Institute of Science.
In addition, Meyerhoff served on the board of directors of many organizations – including The Associated, Baltimore Hebrew College, Sinai Hospital and Beth Jacob Synagogue — and served as longtime chairman of the board of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He was a frequent patron of the BSO and counted Tchaikovsky among his favorite composers.
Writes Gilbert Sandler: “The Meyerhoff family went on to become renowned real estate developers with a worldwide reputation for philanthropy.”
Jeremy Diamond is the author of “Tastemakers II: The Legacy of Jewish Entrepreneurs in the Mid-Atlantic Grocery Industry” (2nd Ed.), which is available on Amazon and at The Ivy Bookshop
Jacob Applebaum contributed to this article.
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