Mark Taper
S. (Sydney) Mark Taper (December 25, 1902 – December 16, 1994) was a real estate developer, financier and philanthropist in Southern California. His 1962 gift to the Los Angeles Music Center resulted in the Mark Taper Forum being named for him in 1967.[1]
Mark Taper | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 25, 1902 |
| Died | December 16, 1994 (aged 91) |
| Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Sydney Mark Taper |
| Occupation | Businessman, philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Amelia Taper |
| Children | 3 |
Career
Taper moved to England where he eventually opened five shoe stores. In 1926, at the age of 25, he was able to retire. From 1929, he instead begun successfully investing and developing innovations in real estate and house building. One of his more famous projects in the 1930s was a prestigious development he created in Brockley, Southeast London, whereby Taper named one street Millmark Road (now Millmark Grove) in honor of his wife, (nicknamed Milly) in a portmanteau with his own name, and another Barrydale (now Barriedale) for his young son, Barry. [2] By the late 1930s, Taper had retired and moved his family to Long Beach, California, becoming an American citizen.[2]
During Southern California's postwar housing boom, Taper founded Biltmore Homes and began building suburban housing for returning soldiers in Long Beach, Norwalk, Compton and Lakewood. In all, he built 35,000 houses for low and middle-income people as part of some of the largest housing projects in the U.S.[3] Taper also founded the First Charter Financial Corporation of Beverly Hills, parent of American Savings and Loan. In 1949 he partnered with Louis Boyar and Ben Weingart to acquire 3500 acres of agricultural land near Long Beach, The group formed the Lakewood Park Company and with financing from Prudential Insurance, built 17,000 affordable homes in the new community of Lakewood, California. The group built the Lakewood Center in 1953, and two years later Lakewood was the largest planned city in the United States.[4]
Philanthropy
Taper financed the first gallery for modern works at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as a memorial to his wife, Amelia, who died in 1958, and was a major donor to the University of California at Los Angeles.[1]
Mark and Amelia Taper devoted much of their time to transporting hundreds of Catholic and Jewish children out of Nazi Germany. The S. Mark Taper Foundation was established in 1952 as a family foundation, and remains active in philanthropic giving, including funding the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.[3]
Death and legacy
Taper died suddenly on December 16, 1994, in his Beverly Hills, California, home.[2] He was buried next to his wife in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.[5]
As part of the 2007-2008 renovations, the auditorium of the Mark Taper Forum will be named the Amelia Taper Auditorium after a $2 million gift from the S. Mark Taper Foundation.[6]
References
- "S. Mark Taper, 92; California Financier Gave to the Arts". New York Times. December 17, 1994. p. 24. ProQuest 429990823.
- "Mark Taper, Financier and Philanthropist, Dies at 92". Los Angeles Times. December 16, 1994. p. A1. ProQuest 1973851207.
- "Birth of a City". Time Magazine. April 17, 1950. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- Thackrey, Ted (December 23, 1980). "Ben Weingart, 92, Philanthropist, Financier, Dies". Los Angeles Times. p. OC_A1. ProQuest 163011117.
- "Sydney Mark Taper". Find a Grave.
- "S. Mark Taper Foundation Gift Names Amelia Taper Auditorium at Music Center's Mark Taper Forum (dead link)". Los Angeles Music Center (Press release). January 3, 2008. Archived from the original on January 24, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2008.