Norval Crawford White (June 12, 1926 – December 26, 2009) was an Americanarchitect,architectural historian andprofessor. He designed buildings throughout the U.S., but he is best known for his writing, particularly theAIA Guide to New York City (with Elliot Willensky). White was widely considered to be one of the great figures of New York architecture.[1]
White was born in 1926 to surgeon William Crawford White and social worker Caroline (Taylor) White. He grew up on theUpper East Side and went to theAllen-Stevenson School andExeter. In 1958, he married Joyce L. Lee, and they had four sons: William, Thomas, Gordon and Alastair.[2]
Following two years on active duty with theUnited States Naval Reserve duringWorld War II, White received aB.S. from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 1949. He attendedÉcole des Beaux-Arts (1954) and earned aMaster of Fine Arts fromPrinceton University School of Architecture in 1955.[2][3]
White resided in the neighborhood ofBrooklyn Heights before moving to northwesternConnecticut in the early 1990s. He then retired and lived in the commune ofRoques in the Frenchdepartment ofle Gers with his second wife, Camilla Crowe White,[4] until his death on December 26, 2009.[5]
In 1962, upon hearing of the imminent demolition of New York City's historicPennsylvania Station, White and several other architects, including Willensky, founded AGBANY (Action Group for Better Architecture in New York). They picketed the station and handed out fliers in protest.[6]
In 1967, White and Willensky proposed a guide to New York City architecture to theAmerican Institute of Architects (AIA). TheAIA Guide to New York City, a 464+ page guidebook featuring over 2,600 buildings in its first edition The fourth edition of this guide was issued in 1999, then without further contributions from Willensky, who had died in 1990.[7][8]
From 1968 to 1973, White worked as a partner-in-charge with Gruzen and Partners, on the development of theNew York City Police Headquarters building.[9]
White was able to finalize the 5th edition of the AIA Guide before his death, which was published in 2010.[5][10]
As a professor, White taught architectural history and design, first atCooper Union and then from 1968 at the School of Architecture and Environmental Studies at theCity College of New York, where he served as the founding chairman and where he continued to teach until he retired.
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