58 July 25 • 2019
jn
T
his year marks the 100th anniversary of a Jewish
Detroit business that you may know. Perhaps, on
your way to work today, you may have passed
by one of its developments, City Club Apartments. Or
maybe you live in one?
Although the name has evolved over the
years, City Club Apartments is celebrat-
ing 100 years in the real estate business.
History tells us it is a rare company that
lasts a century.
The roots of City Club begin when
2-year-old Joseph Holtzman immigrated to
the United States from Russia in 1896. He
came to Detroit in 1914 to take a job as a
sweeper for Ford Motor Company, one of
thousands who came to the city, lured by
Ford’
s famous “Five Dollar a Day” wages.
But Holtzman had ambitions beyond the factory floor:
He began Joseph Holtzman Homes in 1919 and soon
established a reputation for building quality, modestly
priced homes.
In 1934, Holtzman partnered with his brother-in-law,
Nathan Silverman. Holtzman Homes became Holtzman
& Silverman and continued to build houses for the
working class. The compa-
ny remained in business for
another 60 years and later was
managed by another genera-
tion, Irwin “Toby” Holtzman
and Gilbert Silverman. In
1966, the sons created Metro
Detroit’
s iconic Village Green
Apartments.
Holtzman & Silverman split
apart in 1994, but Village
Green Apartments continued. The third generation
Holtzman, Jonathan, began working in the family busi-
ness in 1977. In 2016, he separated from Village Green
and, with his partner, Alan Greenberg, formed City Club
Apartments.
A search into the William Davison Digital Archive of
Jewish Detroit History demonstrates that the Holtzmans
are mentioned hundreds of times. More important, the
historic pages of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle and Detroit
Jewish News show that, beyond maintaining a success-
ful business based in Metro Detroit, as philanthropists,
the Holtzmans also have had a significant impact upon
Detroit, its Jewish community and Israel.
To say the least, family patriarch, Joseph
Holtzman, was among the prominent lead-
ers of Detroit, especially in the aftermath of
World War II. For just one example, a story in the
Jan. 16, 1948, issue of the JN reported that Holtzman and
another Detroiter, Louis Berry, were among 50 American
Jewish leaders to tour displaced persons camps and
Palestine on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal. After
the trip, Holtzman became a staunch supporter of Israel.
Moreover, a few months later, the Oct. 1, 1948, issue
of the JN stated: “In a single year, Berry and Holtzman
became a legend in Detroit’
s campaign history.” Indeed,
Holtzman became one of the most successful UJA chairs
ever and a mentor of the legendary Detroiter Max Fisher.
The son and grandson have carried on the tradition.
For example, Toby Holtzman and his son, Jonathan,
were in the news last year regarding their work toward
a major literary project in Israel. The story in the Oct.
25, issue of the JN (the 2018 issues of the JN will soon be
added to the Davidson Archive) reported that Toby and
his wife, Shirley, began collecting in 1973 and amassed
a huge trove of Israeli literature. Having already estab-
lished the Irwin T. and Shirley Holtzman Collection of
Israeli Literature at Michigan
State University, their main
collection was donated to the
National Library of Israel and
is considered the definitive
collection of Israeli literary
works.
Toby died in 2010, but
Jonathan is now carrying
on the tradition, among his
other charitable causes. Oren
Weinberg, library director, noted that: “We are proud
to count Jonathan Holtzman as a leading partner in the
renewal of the National Library.”
Jonathan summed-up the Holtzman legacy: “I am
proud to serve as the third-generation leader of this
100-year-old company that was founded on relationships,
quality and innovation. I was inspired by my grandfa-
ther’
s creativity, work ethic and love of Israel. I had great
respect for my father’
s ability to evolve my grandfather’
s
vision and his love of books.” ■
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available
for free at www.djnfoundation.org.
City Club Apartments
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY CLUB APARTMENTS
Jonathan Holtzman and Alan Greenberg
Joe, David and Toby Holtzman
Holtzman Legacy Marks
100 Years
n the
oltzman and
0 American
46 October 25 • 2018
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T
he new National Library of Israel Complex under
construction next to the Knesset in Jerusalem will
have a room named for Irwin and Shirley Holtzman of
Bloomfield Hills. The room will house an
irreplaceable special collection known as
“the greatest single collection in the world
of Israeli literature.
”
The collection started in 1973, when
Irwin (known as “Toby”)
and Shirley Holtzman
first traveled to Israel.
Impressed by the
“founding Israeli authors,
” the Holtzmans
began collecting first editions of works
by famous Hebrew writers, first editions
of literary works in Arabic and the many
other languages of Israel, including English,
Ethiopic, French, German, Hungarian,
Ladino, Lithuanian, Polish, Rumanian,
Russian, Spanish and Yiddish. They also
snapped up translations of Israeli works in other languages.
For years, they kept this collection in their home in
Bloomfield Hills.
Each time they returned to Israel, Irwin Holtzman would
visit bookstores looking to add to the collection. Gil Weissblei,
now archivist at the National Library of Israel, remembers
those visits:
“The first time I met Holtzman, I was working in a book-
store,
” Weissblei said. “We did not have many customers like
him; actually, we did not have any. He would come
once per year, accompanied by his wife, Shirley.
She was a very nice lady, cordial, warm. Price had
no interest for him. If it was a first edition, in mint
condition, he would say, ‘
I just want it.
’
”
Eventually, the Holtzmans donated the collec-
tion to the Jewish National and University Library
on the Givat Ram campus of Hebrew University.
Galia Richler, reference librarian for Judaica at the
National Library, notes that before the collection could move
(in August 1999), Irwin Holtzman designed the room to house
the collection and chose all the furnishings. “He wanted every-
thing just so. In the dedicated room displaying the collection,
for example, he chose the blond wood decor and each piece of
furniture.
”
BUILDING THE COLLECTION
In the ensuing years, Holtzman continued to add to the collec-
tion. According to Richler, “Holtzman was proud of the col-
lecting he did for the library. He personally kept a catalogue of
the collection — inserting slips of paper with the information
about each item into slots on pages, which he kept in oversize
loose-leaf binders, eventually four of these huge binders.
”
Preserving
History
LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ABOVE: An architectural rendering of
the National Library of Israel being
built in Jerusalem near the Knesset;
a special room designed by the late
Irwin “Toby” Holtzman of Bloomfield
Hills will hold his massive collection
of Israeli literature.
HOLTZMAN COLLECTION AT MSU
The Irwin T. and Shirley Holtzman
Collection of Israeli Literature at
Michigan State University contains
works published from the early 20th
century through the early 21st
cen-
tury, with a focus on belles-lettres.
The archival portion of the collection
contains a wealth of primary resources,
including manuscripts of poetry and
drama; posters advertising literary
events; political cartoons and other
original artwork; and Irwin “Toby”
Holtzman’
s extensive correspondence
with many important Israeli literary
figures, including Amalia Kahana-
Carmon, Yoram Kaniuk, Amos Oz and
A.B. Yehoshua.
The Holtzman Collection is accessi-
ble to scholars and the public alike at
the MSU Libraries’
Special Collections.
For more information, contact librari-
an
Deborah
Margolis
deborahm@msu.
edu, or see https://libguides.lib.msu.
edu/jewishstudies/holtzman.
Irwin Holtzman
Holtzman’
s defi
nitive
Israeli literature collection
goes to the National
Library of Israel.
continued on page 48
Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
Mike Smith
Alene and Graham
Landau Archivist
Chair