Norval White - A Preservation Hero Passes

Today has turned into Historic Preservation Day on Brownstoner, so it is appropriate to celebrate the life, and mourn the passing, of Norval White, the co-author of the AIA Guide to New York City, and a giant in the historical preservation world. Mr. White died Saturday at the ripe old age of 83.

In 1968, Norval White and Elliot Willensky, both architects, published the first edition of the Guide. It was opinionated, witty, well laid out, extremely interesting, and an instant success. Several editions have been printed since, all updated to reflect the changing face of the city. The Times, in their obituary, writes, the AIA Guide tapped into and fostered a growing national awareness that America had an architectural past worth preserving, a present worth studying and a future worth debating. It also offered a template for other city guides. But after four decades, it stands alone.

The Guide sits on my desk, usually the first book I grab when getting information for my columns. Yes, it could be more complete in our Brooklyn neighborhoods, but it is unprecedented for even bothering to cover all of the boroughs. No other architectural or historical guide does it better for listing neighborhood architecture in all of Brownstone Brooklyn, including Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, Bushwick, and other neighborhoods, at a time when most people never considered these places as worthy of visiting, let alone study, tour, or preservation. The AIA Guide is cited in all architectural and scholarly writings that followed, from the excellent books of Francis Marrone, the columns of Christopher Gray in the NY TImes, to Kevin Walsh’s Forgotten NY, to the historic designation reports of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. None of us could write about the borough and the city we love without it. Thank you, Elliot Willensky, and thank you Norval White. New York City owes you big time.
Norval White, of AIA Guide, Dies at 83 [NY Times]