John McShain

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John McShain (December 21, 1896 – September 9, 1989) was an American building contractor known as "The Man Who Built Washington".

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants, McShain graduated from St. Joseph's Preparatory School in 1918 after having attended La Salle College High School for several years. He later graduated from La Salle University, earning a bachelor's degree.

Early life and education

John McShain was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 21, 1896. His father founded a successful construction company, which he was forced to take over at age 21 following his father's death in 1919.

Building construction

Under McShain's management, the company became one of the leading builders in the United States. From the 1930s to the 1960s, the company worked on more than one hundred buildings in the Washington, D.C., area. The company built or was the prime contractor for a number of landmark structures including The Pentagon, the Jefferson Memorial, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Library of Congress annex, Washington National Airport, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and the 1949–52 reconstruction of the White House. Of his many construction projects, McShain also built the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York.

His career as a building contractor garnered McShain significant wealth. He started the John McShain Charities as his philanthropy arm. McShain acquired the Barclay Hotel on Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square and became part owner of the Skyscraper By The Sea, the 400-room Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.^[1][2]

Thoroughbred racing

In 1952, John McShain established Barclay Stable in the United States and in 1955 expanded its operations to Ireland. Based in

McShain was also a benefactor to La Salle University, his alma mater. He helped plan the construction of La Salle's original academic building, College Hall. McShain Hall at LaSalle was named after him. La Salle University also has a student award named after McShain, given out annually. The John McShain Award is offered to a member of the senior class who maintained an excellent scholastic record and is considered by faculty and staff to have done the most for the public welfare of La Salle.^[3]

Through the John McShain Charities, Sister Pauline McShain continued her parents' tradition of financial support for various Catholic organizations such as the Neumann University scholarship program.

Personal life

In 1927, McShain married

In 2018, his nieces Mary Anne O'Donnell, Judy White and nephew Robert McShain, along with his wife Janet, eight of their nine children and assorted other cousins and distant relatives attended the grand opening of the new Killarney House National Park dedication ceremony.[8]^[9]

Pauline McShain died on March 8, 2019, from complications of pneumonia.^[10]

References

External links

• John McShain papers Archived 2018-12-09 at the Wayback Machine at Hagley Museum and Library
• John McShain photograph collection Archived 2018-12-09 at the Wayback Machine at Hagley Museum and Library
• Killarney House reference at the Parliament of Ireland
• National Building Museum, Washington, DC article: The Man Who Built Washington: John McShain and The American Construction Industry
• National Building Museum, Washington, DC article: Building the Nation's Capital
• TIME magazine article November 14, 1949 titled White House Man
• Brauer, Carl M., The Man Who Built Washington: A Life of John McShain (1996)
  ISBN 978-0-914650-31-7