Sam Israel

Sam Israel (March 4, 1899 – June 11, 1994)[1][2] was an American real estate investor and landlord.

[3] After World War II, during which he had a military contract to repair combat boots at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, he began to invest in real estate.

[1] His holdings, many of them in the Pioneer Square historic district, were largely dilapidated and undesirable to the majority of investors.

Through what Paul Dorpat in Pacific Northwest Magazine called Israel's "benign neglect,"[4] many of these buildings survived to be renovated after his death in 1994.

Within Seattle, Samis owns two blocks in Downtown and 11 historic buildings in Pioneer Square.