Nathan Eckstein

Nathan Eckstein (January 10, 1873 – October 21, 1945 ) was a German-born American businessman, associated in business and by marriage with the Schwabacher Brothers firm and family. In 1926 he received the honor of being named "Seattle's Most Useful Citizen", Seattle's Nathan Eckstein Middle School is named in his honor.

Life and career Eckstein was born to Lazarus Eckstein and Johanna Haas in Bavaria in 1873. He came to Seattle in 1898, Eckstein's years on the School Board were controversial. This was during a period of great confrontation between labor and capital in Seattle —and Schwabachers' support for the open shop put Eckstein firmly on capital's side of the divide. "The prejudice under which the Jew is suffering is not due to his religion," he said on one occasion. "The greatest criticism of the Jew is that he is irreligious. If every Jew belonged to a temple or synagogue there would not be one percent of the prejudice that exists today"

By the late 1930s, Eckstein, though still running Schwabachers', had a much-improved relationship with organized labor. In 1937 and 1938, he was part of a citizen's committee that successfully arbitrated in a jurisdictional dispute between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) under Harry Bridges and the Teamsters under Dave Beck over organizing inland warehouse workers.

Nathan and Mina Eckstein had two daughters, Johanna—a noted Seattle philanthropist and patron of the arts—and Babette.