Julian Cohen left his mark on Boston, N.E.

Most shoppers wouldn't know it today as they walked the deluxe corridors of the Mall at Chestnut Hill and gaze and the glitzy clothes and gadgets for sale, but the man responsible for creating that upscale retail experience died on Thursday.

Julian Cohen, who was 83, had a 54-year career in malls and other real estate throughout New England. He was one of the first in the industry to recognize that people liked strolling along in an indoor environment while they shopped, rather than beating the heat or dodging the slush and puddles. Mr. Cohen was also, in the last few years, one of the first to see a growing market for superluxury urban living, with luxury condominiums tied to the full services of a first-rate hotel. He was partners with Stephen R. Weiner and Robin Brown in the Mandarin Oriental hotel and residences, now rising on Boylston Street at the Prudential Center. The complex is set to open in 2008.

Mr. Cohen, known to friends as Julie, had an approximate worth of $350 million, according to a Boston Magazine estimate. And he was known for giving a good deal of that money away to causes that were important to him and others. Those gifts included $13 million to the Boston Symphony Orchestra -- a wing is named after Mr. Cohen and his late wife, Eunice -- and an additional donation last September to support the symphony's opening night.

Boston Symphony Orchestra managing director Mark Volpe said Mr. Cohen was the most generous donor in the organization's 125-year history. The Eunice and Julian Cohen Galleria at the Museum of Fine Arts is a result of their gift as well.

Mr. Cohen, who lived at the Ritz condominiums, also spent time in Florida and was often tan when he flew back to Boston during the winter months for business or family events. He donated $31 million for the Cohen Pavilion at Palm Beach's Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. He also made an endowment for a professor for the study of ethics and human values at Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire.

Mr. Cohen started out working with William Leatherbee at Leatherbee and Co., rising to become senior partner of C&R Management with Daniel Rothenberg, which at one time was the premier shopping center development firm in New England. He developed the Maine Mall in the late 1960s on a former pig farm, today still the state's largest shopping mall.

"He was the most gentle and most considerate, most respectful and kindest man I ever met, along with my own father," said his partner Robin Brown. "He had an incredible respect for human beings."
(By Thomas C. Palmer, Jr., Globe staff)