by: Stephen Schindel
This year, LNWHospitality’s parent company, Leon N. Weiner & Associates, Inc. (“LNWA”) is celebrating its 70th year in business. I sat down with LNWA Chairman, Kevin Kelly, to discuss the company’s founder Mr. Leon N. Weiner (1920 – 2002). Here is Part I of the discussion. Part II will come in a follow-up blog post.
What was Leon Weiner’s upbringing?
Leon N. Weiner (1920-2002)
He was born in 1920 and grew up in Philadelphia amidst the Great Depression. He was a smart kid – at the age of 11, he starred on the NBC radio show “WizKids.” Callers tried to outsmart the WizKids, most of whom were high schoolers, except for Leon. He went to the University of Pennsylvania, and dropped out just before graduating, saying that it wasn’t worth his time or effort to finish his credits. Later, he was drafted into military service and honorably discharged after World War II.
How did Leon Weiner get into the Real Estate Business?
Leon worked for his uncle in Philadelphia who was a builder in Wilmington. In 1949, after two years, he realized that he could do it himself and founded our company. It became one of the largest home builders in New Castle County, Delaware.
What made Leon Weiner a social advocate?
He grew up in the Depression and saw economic and racial disparity firsthand. He led an equality march in New Orleans where he helped register people to vote. He was an advocate of equal voting rights and constantly challenged the status quo.
Here in Delaware, there was a gentleman, Littleton Mitchell, who was the Delaware NAACP chairman for over three decades, and a former Tuskegee Airman. He and Leon would become lifelong friends. Littleton once overheard Leon having a discussion with US Senator Caleb Boggs about the importance of voting equality. According to Littleton, Leon was “empathetic, articulate, but pointed and forceful in a reprimanding way” that Boggs did not fully support voting equality. When Leon passed away in 2002, Littleton quoted Leon’s keynote address at the NAACP 1973 National Convention. His address further pushed the issue of zoning and its impact on racial segregation.
Leon Weiner with President Johnson
One of the most influential projects Leon worked on was his development of Dunleith in the 1950s. This was the first integrated community in Delaware, a radical development at the time. Leon did not care what people thought, he only cared about what was right.
What was Leon Weiner’s personality like?
Leon was tenacious, unflappable, pugnacious, and unrelenting—a bull in a china shop. When he wanted to go somewhere, he went there. And if he thought he was right, he was right regardless of who or what you were… nothing stopped him.
In Part II of the interview, I’ll cover more of Leon’s professional work including homebuilding, affordable housing, and hotels.