McShain, John, 1898-1989

John McShain was a Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., -based building contractor, whose firm, John McShain, Inc., was by 1950 the fiftieth largest construction firm in the United States, with contracts in excess of $100,000,000.

John McShain was born in Philadelphia on December 21, 1898, the son of immigrants from County Derry, Ireland. His father was a carpenter with a small business and well established as a builder of Catholic churches, schools, rectories and convents. When his father died in 1919, John McShain left college in order to return to Philadelphia and take over the construction business. In 1929 he received his first major contract from the City of Philadelphia. McShain was active in Pennsylvania Republican Party politics during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. He was a member of the Philadelphia Zoning Board from 1936 to 1956 and a member of the Housing Board from 1942 to 1946.

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