The Park Circle Motor Company

The Park Circle Motor Company was the preeminent car dealership of the Baltimore area from its inception in 1921 until 1998 when the last of the dealerships were sold and it became a family office. Its roots can be traced to A.M. Legum, who founded the company before the idea of personal automobile ownership had entered the public consciousness. The company survived and prospered through the challenging economic times of the 20s, 30s and 40s.

Contents

Timeline

Jeffrey A. Legum

In 1963, after graduating from The University of Pennsylvania, Wharton Business School with a B.S. degree in Economics, Jeff joined the family business. In 1967, at the age of 25, he became the youngest Chevrolet Dealer in the Country. In 1977 Park Circle purchased Charlie Irish Chevrolet on Eastern Avenue in the Eastpoint area of Baltimore and closed their original location. The dealership was named Legum Chevrolet; Jeff was CEO, he acquired Nissan franchise in 1982, first Chevrolet Nissan dual dealership in the metropolitan area and third largest Chevrolet Dealer in U.S. He sold the dealership in 1989. In 1973 purchased Westminster Chevrolet Cadillac in Westminster, Maryland. It became the largest volume Cadillac dealer in the Baltimore area. Dealership sold in 1997. Jeff owns and is CEO of The Park Circle Company, DBA Park Circle Investments, a private investment company with interests in corporations with a Baltimore history, i.e., Legg Mason Inc., Adams Express, Stanley Black & Decker, McCormick & Company, T. Rowe Price, PNC Financial, and The Travelers Companies (formerly USF&G).

Professional Achievements

Education

Awards

Civic Activities

Member of the Board of Trustees, 6 years
Chairman transportation division, 3 years
Board of Directors, 12 years
Vice President, 3 years
Investment Committee, 28 years
Board of Electors, 3 years
Honorary Trustee [22]
Trustee, 20 years
Executive Committee, 18 years
Fine Arts Accessions Committee, 20 years; Chair 4 years
Finance Committee, 15 years
Investment Committee, 20 years; Chair 5 years
Legal Panel, Chair, 3 years
Secretary/Treasurer, 8 years
Board of Trustees, 15 years
Finance Committee, 15 years
Wilmer Advisory Board, 20 years
Lay member of Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research, 5 years
Board member, 15 years
Investment Committee, Chair 15 years
Executive Committee, 11 years
Finance Committee, Chair 10 years
Treasurer, 10 years

Philanthropy

Jeffrey Legum, through The Legum Foundation, philanthropically supports a wide array of community efforts, such as Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins University[23], Endowed The Jeffrey and Harriet Legum Professorship in Acute Neurological Medicine, Endowed The John W. Griffin, MD Professorship in Neurology; Kennedy Krieger; American Cancer Society; Baltimore Museum of Art, Contributor, The Lucas Collection, 2000, Sponsored Andy Warhol Exhibit "Warhol The Last Decade", 2010–11, Endowed the 100th anniversary advertising and public relations campaign; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; The Park School; University of Pennsylvania; House of Ruth; Baltimore Hebrew Congregation; Associated Jewish Charities.

Professional Associations

References

  1. ^ “The Park Circle Motor Company has moved into the building next to Carlin’s Park, which was formerly occupied by the Lambert Motor Company’s service station. The entire building has been remodeled and now makes it the largest establishment of the kind in the city.” Park Circle Motor Co. Occupies New Quarters The Sun, Feb 18, 1923 p. MS8
  2. ^ J.R. Legum, president of the Park Circle Motor Company, 3428 Reisterstown road, announced yesterday that he had received word from the Chevrolet stating that M. R. Sher, a member of his sales force had delivered more Chevrolet cars in 1934 than any individual salesman in the United States.” Auto Trade Notes The Sun, March 10, 1935 pg. S7
  3. ^ Rosemary Clooney appeared at Park Circle’s 1952 new car announcement in January of that year, a few months before the fire occurred. It was a regular event to have an entertainer perform at new car announcement time. They had Blackstone the Magician one year; another year they had Sid Stone, Frankie Fontaine who was a comedian and Buddy Lester who was a late night show host and a comedian.
  4. ^ “A six-alarm fire, fed by a series of explosions, raced through the main building of the Park Circle Motor Company on Reisterstown Road at about sundown yesterday and let it a hollow brick shell.” The Sun, Baltimore, Thursday morning, April 10, 1952 p. 34
  5. ^ “Leslie Legum, president of Park Circle Motor Company, has been invited by John F. Gordon, president of General Motors Corporation, to attend a meeting of the fourteenth General Motors President’s Dealer Advisory Committee, schedule in Detroit, February 10, 11 and 12. Mr. Legum is the only Chevrolet dealer, representing the nation’s metropolitan areas, chosen to serve on this special committee which will study the automotive market and general economic conditions. It also will make a tour of the proving ground at Milford, Mich.” The Baltimore Sun Feb 8, 1959, pg. 12D
  6. ^ “Truck Rental Co. Acquired by Avis. Avis Inc., the world’s second largest auto rental firm, has entered into an agreement to acquire Truck Rental Co., Inc. Washington and Baltimore vehicle lessor, it was announced last night. Robert C. Townsend, president of Avis, said the agreement calls for the acquisition of all of the Truck Rental stocked owned by Park Circle Motor Co., Baltimore auto dealer. The price was not disclosed.” Wall Street Journal, May 9, 1962 pg. 2
  7. ^ Park Circle Rounds out 50 years. A Chevrolet dealership which has sold no other new car make since it received its first franchise in 1921, and which has been operated by the same family throughout the period, has marked its Golden Anniversary in Baltimore. It is Park Circle Motor Company, well known in automotive circles and one of the five largest in the United States (based on assets), owned and operated by the Legum Family - Leslie Legum, president, and Jeffrey A., his son, executive vice president. It was A. M. Legum, previously a furniture retailer in Norfolk, who began Park Circle as a garage to house neighborhood cars at night. The garage was located in just the spot it is today; now, however, it occupies the entire block and an adjacent block as well. In addition to parking cars, Park Circle provided mechanic and repair services and had one of the country's first American Oil stations. Shortly after opening Park Circle obtained a Chevrolet franchise, but it was by no means exclusive; there were four others within the radius of a mile. The first contract called for the dealer to stock four vehicles at a time (one carload) and reorder when these were sold. Now, after selling nearly 400,000, the Legums stock about 1,000 vehicles. Sales in a good year will reach $17 million as they did in 1969. Also, the firm owns a controlling interest in Westminster Motor Company, a Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac dealership in Westminster, Maryland. Tracing the family involvement in Park Circle, A. M. Legum was joined by his brother, J. R. Legum, in 1922. The founder's son, Leslie, started to work in 1933 and four years later assumed general manager duties. His son, Jeffrey, commenced his full-time involvement in 1963 following his graduation from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. Innovative in its approach to marketing, the dealership was one of the first to develop fleet sales in the 1920s and early '30s. Today it supplies about half of Chevrolet's sales to national fleet accounts in its eastern zone. Park Circle's service people also helped to build America's first cab-over-engine truck and the company pioneered car and truck renting and leasing fields, operating these facilities in Baltimore, Washington, New York City and York, Pennsylvania before selling the business to Avis, Incorporated, in 1962. World War II found the service department assembling fire engines for the Air Force and Army Ordnance, and later, rebuilt 540 heavy duty trucks for "The Manhattan Project." Another first for the Legum's was the use of television for auto advertising, sponsoring news programs soon after commercial broadcasts commenced in Baltimore. General Motors Acceptance Corporation, GMAC News and Views May–June 1971 Issue.
  8. ^ "A big factor in success is being in the right place at the right time. Lots of my success is plain dumb luck." So says Jeff Legum in a recent interview with the Carroll County Times. But it's more than just "plain dumb luck" when you happen to be president of Westminster Motors and Legum Chevrolet in Baltimore. When the giant automakers are reporting declining sales because of inflation, a rash of foreign auto imports, high interest rates and a horde of other economic reasons, one would immediately think that the local dealers are experiencing the same things. Well, they are except for Jeff Legum. The Carroll County Times article says he has "one of the most prosperous if not the most prosperous retail businesses in the county." Sales of new and used cars at his Westminster dealership alone exceeded $12 million in 1979, triple what it was three years ago. Currently, the company sells an average of 20 new Cadillacs a week. Since January, 1979 he has sold over 550 Caddies, crediting healthy sales to "our policy of making a little profit on a lot of cars." Hard work and business savvy are the main ingredients to his success factor, with just a smidgen of "plain dumb luck." Even before he was out of high school in the late 50's, he was selling a headache remedy door to door that made him so successful, "that the company he worked for offered him a 25% share of the business." Jeff refused the offer and went off to the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in economics. As a senior he elected to take an advertising course, for a change of pace, and ended up doing an ad campaign for Avis car rentals as a class project. "Dumb luck" came into play when Avis agreed to read the 22-year old ad novice's report. The result? They used it. Jeff is a third generation car dealer whose first job in the car business was selling used cars at Park Circle Motor Company. He did it before and after college. Jeff also played the stock market and, through astute maneuvering, he bought and sold at the right time. The latter helped him become majority owner of Westminster Motors. Is that dumb luck?
  9. ^ VIP Cadillacs for inaugural stir hoopla. The hoopla and ceremony are over. Ronald Wilson Reagan is now President. But the three day inaugural festivities that surrounded his swearing in last month have created an aftermath kind of hoopla all its own. Prince Georges County officials are trying to collect 10% entertainment taxes on the Capital Center Gala that raised $5 million for the Reagan camp. And Westminster Motors has the official inaugural Cadillacs ordered especially to be loaned to the Inaugural Committee. The four door luxury sedans are now on sale to the general public for $12,900 have attracted 33 buyers in less than two weeks and hordes of lookers wanting to get a bird's eye view of what they saw on television Inauguration Day. According to Jeff Legum, owner of Westminster Motors, he called the Inaugural Committee to offer some Cadillacs for use during the festivities. As it turned out, Cindy Tapscott, who was in charge of transportation for the inaugural, was just about to pull her hair out in search of Cadillacs. In a rapid turn of events, Mr. Legum called General Motors and changed the colors of his fleet on order from mahogany, silver and steel blue to navy blue, black and white, as requested by the committee. "Out of the clear blue sky I just decided to see if they needed some cars and they did," said Mr. Legum who previously had loaned cars to the Junior League for the Grand Prix Tennis Tournament. The cars were all in by the first week in January and U.S. Marines were dispatched from Washington to pick them up Jan. 10 and store them until the inaugural. Bearing official inaugural license plates and the presidential seal on both front doors, the cars carried the likes of Henry A. Kissinger and J. William Middendorf 2nd, former secretary of the Navy and the only person to request to ride in a navy blue Seville instead of the traditional Sedan de Ville. Military officers squired the public officials and important politicos around Washington for three days but traveled less than 300 miles before returning the cars to Westminster, where they were put on sale to the public. Some of the cars still bear the presidential seal and the inaugural license plates. Others had those choice pieces of memorabilia removed by some of the 100,000 souvenir hungry persons who converged on Washington last month. By Wanda Dobson, The Baltimore Evening Sun, Thursday, February 5, 1981.
  10. ^ Having pioneered the use of television advertising in Baltimore in 1947, Legum was a leading proponent of television advertising and in fact was the second largest Dealer TV Advertiser in the US. Source: Television Bureau of Advertising/Broadcast Advertisers Reports 1983.
  11. ^ Fears that the economy as a whole may be about to suffer a touch of vertigo were heightened by the sharp decline reported for March retail sales. We might note that the figures were subject to substantial seasonal adjustment; and as someone has pointed out, the economist in charge of seasonal adjustments makes them by putting one foot on a steaming radiator and the other on a keg of ice. A friend of ours, Jeff Legum, who sells cars in Maryland, points out that there may be another reason for the severe drop in retail sales, the worst monthly decline since '78. Jeff points to the widely publicized computer snafu which, so the story goes, has caused the IRS to be delinquent in mailing out tax refunds. In the past years when those checks were in the mailbox instead of in the mail, people, Jeff says would come in to check out cars in early March and use their tax refunds as down payments. Not so, this year. Thanks to the delay by the IRS, with possible braking effects on overall retail sales." Barron's Up & Down Wall Street by Alan Abelson, April 15, 1985
  12. ^ The Fed is also worried evidently about the economy and more particularly about signs that the expansion is growing old and a trifle enfeebled. No question that the combination of quantum imports, some special problems (oil, farm, electronics) and just plain natural causes have taken some of the starch out of the economy. But it's much too early to start talking about recession. Washington, which is the root of all evil, can be faulted to some extent for the slowdown because it didn't get those tax refunds flowing out as promptly and heavily as it should. Barron's Up & Down Wall Street by Alan Abelson, May 20, 1985
  13. ^ 1986 Automotive News’ ranking of “Sales Giant’s” Legum Chevrolet Nissan placed third largest in the country. Automotive News Staff reporter, Edward Lapham. Printed with written permission from Keith Crain, Editor-in-Chief 8/12/11
  14. ^ "Legum dealership bought for $11.5 million" Legum Chevrolet-Nissan of Essex, which identifies itself as the largest Chevrolet dealership in Maryland and one of the largest in the country, has been sold for $11.5 million, Jeffrey A Legum, its president, announced today. The buyer is Robert L. Bell, who owns Ford, Mitsubishi and Suzuki dealerships in Glen Burnie. The new entity, which will have 195 workers, will conduct business as Bob Bell Chevrolet-Nissan. Mr. Legum said he sold the dealership located in the 7900 block of Eastern Avenue, "because I wanted to do something else...I've had all the fun I wanted to have in the auto business. I've been in it for 26 years." The dealership was part of the Park Circle Motor Co., an investment company headed by Mr. Legum and his father, Leslie Legum, who is also the developer of several industrial parks near the BWI Airport. "The company has an investment portfolio of more than $20 million," said Mr. Legum, who explained that he wanted to have more time "to search for investments in well-managed, publicly owned companies in my back yard." Park Circle Motor, he said, holds about a 1.5 percent interest in Equitable Bancorporation; a 5 percent stake in Legg Mason; a minority interest in SEI Inc., a computer software company in the Philadelphia; and is the largest stockholder of Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. Mr. Legum joined the family business in the early 1960s, selling cars at a Park Circle lot that started in the 1920s. He moved the auto business to its Eastern Avenue location in 1977 when he purchased Charlie Irish Chevrolet, which had been at the site since 1947. With the addition of two new fleet accounts, Mr. Legum said the dealership had sold over 6,000 cars this year through July and had recently moved ahead of two Baltimore dealerships, Fox Chevrolet and Jerry's Chevrolet, as the largest outlet in the state. He said the dealership is profitable and projected sales of 15,000 new and used cars this year. Park Circle Motor still owns the Westminster Motor Co., a Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Cadillac dealership. Mr. Legum said there were no plans to sell the Carroll County outlet. Mary McElyea, a Washington based spokeswoman for General Motors Corp., said the manufacturer does not disclose the ranking of its dealers in terms of size but conceded that the Legum outlet was one of the largest in the country. "He's really a strong fleet dealer," she said. Mr. Bell said it would be business as usual at the Eastern Avenue outlet. He said the workers there would be retained, and he hopes to boost sales and add more workers. In addition to the Glen Burnie facilities, Mr. Bell owns a Ford franchise in Upper Marlboro and a Volkswagen dealership in North Palm Beach, Fla. The Sun Business Extra, page C1 August 9, 1989
  15. ^ Legum Chevrolet-Nissan, said to be Maryland's largest car dealership, was sold by Jeffrey A. Legum for $11.5 million to rival Robert L. Bell, who owns Ford, Mitsubishi and Suzuki dealerships in Glen Burnie. The Washington Post August 10, 1989 pg. b.01 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=73892167&sid=2&Fmt=3&clientld=10562&RQT=309&VName=PQD
  16. ^ A car dealership said to be the largest in the state has been sold for $11.5 million to a rival car dealer, company officials said. Legum Chevrolet-Nissan has been sold to Robert L. Bell, owner of Ford, Mitsubishi and Suzuki dealerships in Glen Burnie, Jeffrey A. Legum announced Tuesday. The dealership, which will employ 195, will be renamed Bob Bell Chevrolet-Nissan.News World Communications, Inc. The Washington Times August 10, 1989 Thursday, Final Edition
  17. ^ "First you've got to have a plan for the future. It needn't be elaborate with a glossy cover and engraved letters, but you must have one. Mine? It's often scribbled on the back of an Amtrak ticket envelope, but I always have one and I change it periodically. To be successful in business you can't play it by ear. "Second, be flexible. If you don't adapt to rapidly changing conditions you'll be overwhelmed and you'll perish. The big Baltimore downtown department stores were riding high for many years but they died because they weren't flexible enough to change with changing times. They're mostly all gone. "Third, follow your own instincts. I always listen to myself. Your own plan of action may be distasteful to others, especially compared to what you've been doing, but sometimes you must do unpopular things. Three years ago when I felt we had too much exposure to the automotive area and considered selling one dealership, everybody warned, 'Don't do that; it's been in the family for years,' but I listened to myself and did it anyhow; it worked out fine. You can't listen to everybody. "Finally, you must have fun. When I went to the Wharton School many years ago, Dad gave me $2,000 and I began investing in stocks. Guess what? I loved it so much that I've done better in Wall Street than in autos. One more thing: Have a sense of humor. If you're wrong 30 percent of the time, as many successful people are, laugh at it, put it behind you and move on to something else." Julius Westheimer for The Baltimore Evening Sun, Monday, June 10, 1991
  18. ^ “Leslie Legum, chairman of the board of the Park Circle Motor Co., developer and philanthropist, died Monday of heart failure at Boca Raton Community Hospital in Florida, where he had a vacation home. The Pikesville resident was 83. ‘He really had three different careers’, said his son, Jeffrey A. Legum, president of Park Circle. ‘He had one in auto sales, truck and car leasing, and land development.’ After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1933 from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va, Leslie Legum went to work for his father as a timekeeper. He became president in 1950. In 1952, he organized Truck Rental Inc., which was sold to Avis in 1962. The Baltimore Sun, Feb 22, 1995 by Fred Rasmussen Sun Staff Writer
  19. ^ In another case of consolidating car dealers, Len Stoler Inc. has bought Westminster Motor Co. in Carroll County, the companies said yesterday. Stoler, which already operates dealerships in Owings Mills and Westminster, adds Westminster Motor's Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Cadillac operations to an already broad lineup. Westminster owner Jeffrey Legum is leaving a business that traces its roots to 1921, when his grandfather founded Park Circle Chevrolet in Baltimore. "It's a bittersweet moment," Legum said. "I've been a Chevrolet dealer for over 30 years, and a Cadillac and Oldsmobile dealer for 24 years." Westminster books about $50 million in annual sales, including deals with fleet buyers, Legum said. Recently, Westminster was selling about 1,000 cars a year to individuals and another 2,500 to fleets. "We were probably the third largest Chevrolet dealer in the Baltimore area," Legum said. He declined to disclose a price for the company or its profitability. The prices of profitable, sizable dealerships have been rising recent years, helped in part by acquisition sprees by big, publicly owned companies such as Republic Industries and United Auto Group. Prices for some recent deals have passed four times pre-tax earnings, according to Automotive News, a trade paper. Pretax profits for some dealerships surpass 2 percent of sales. Len Stoler Inc. now sells a veritable United Nations of car nameplates: Nissan, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Audi, Ford, Chrysler, Plymouth, Jeep, Suzuki, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. It is the only Baltimore-area dealership to offer vehicles from all three U.S. auto makers, the company said in a prepared statement. Westminster Motor was started by a partner of Legum's grandfather, the late A. M. Legum. Although he's no longer running a dealership, Legum plans to stay involved in the business: He's just bought what he called "a large position" in Republic's stock. Pub Date: 11/18/97 http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-11-18/business/1997322006_1_chevrolet-dealer-westminster-motor-legum
  20. ^ A Marquis Who's Who Publication, Who's Who in the World, 2011 28th Edition
  21. ^ A Marquis Who'sWho Publication, Who's Who in America 2010 64th Edition, page 2742
  22. ^ When honoring this accomplishment, Stiles Colwil, Chairman of the Board of Trustees said "Jeff, you are the third generation of your family to be deeply involved in the BMA. The first was Manny & Rose Hendler, your grandparents, then Leslie & Naomi Legum, your parents and now you.
  23. ^ The Johns Hopkins U. (Baltimore): $3-million from Jeffrey A. Legum a trustee of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and his wife, Harriet, for capital projects to support medical research. Chronicle of Philanthropy November 11, 2004 v17i03pNA