Robert V. Tishman | Builder, 94

Robert V. Tishman, 94, a real estate developer whose companies - bearing the family name since the 19th century - etched their mark on the skylines of cities around the nation, including construction of the World Trade Center, died last Monday at his home in Manhattan.

Mr. Tishman was founding chairman of Tishman Speyer Properties, a company he started in 1978 with his son-in-law at the time, Jerry I. Speyer. It was an outgrowth of Tishman Realty & Construction, the company created by his grandfather Julius.

Mr. Tishman ran what became one of the largest owners and builders of office buildings in the country. Working with his cousin John, who was in charge of the construction division, Mr. Tishman negotiated the contracts with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and oversaw construction of the World Trade Center.

The company had previously built the 39-story Tishman Building at 666 Fifth Ave. and residential buildings on Park Avenue, and managed construction of the new Madison Square Garden at Seventh Avenue and 31st Street.

Under Mr. Tishman's leadership, Tishman Realty & Construction expanded its operations throughout the country. Among other projects, it built the 100-story John Hancock Tower in Chicago, Alcoa's twin-tower Century City Complex in Los Angeles, and the Renaissance Center in Detroit. In San Francisco, it built one of the first condominiums on Nob Hill. - N.Y. Times News Service