Henry Hope Reed, inaugural recipient of the award named in his honor and given to him by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture in conjunction with The Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture named in his honor, passed away Wednesday, May 1, 2013, at age 97 in his home in New York City. For over half a century, Henry Hope Reed has promoted classical traditions in architecture and its allied arts, along with educating the public about the importance of grandeur in the design of monuments and institutional buildings.
Henry Hope Reed has been the foremost spokesman for the cause of tradition in civic design. He embraced the unity of the arts as the key to grandeur in the public realm and no one has done more to highlight the enduring vitality of the Classical tradition in architecture and its allied arts than Henry Hope Reed. He has led the education of the public about the keys to grandeur in the design of monuments and institutional buildings.
“The School of Architecture owes a great debt of gratitude to Henry Hope Reed, who in the 1950s and 60s challenged the prevailing attitudes about architecture and preservation and the city’s future. As a school and a community devoted to the principles of the traditional city and its architecture, we hope to continue to honor his legacy in the work of our students, faculty, alumni and those who have received the award that is named after him. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and colleagues,” says Michael Lykoudis, professor and Francis and Kathleen Rooney Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame.
Richard Driehaus, patron of the Richard H. Driehaus Prize and the Henry Hope Reed Award, echoed Dean Lykoudis, saying, “It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to a friend, teacher and colleague who has left the world in a better place than he found it.”
In 1959, Henry Hope Reed published the popular book, The Golden City, drawn from his experiences as a lecturer in the Department of Urban Planning at Yale, his research on architecture and urbanism, and his walking tours of Manhattan’s historic architecture. During the 1960s, he served as the first curator of New York City parks. In 1968, Reed co-founded Classical America, the pioneering organization that promoted the current resurgence of the grand tradition in American design and which joined forces in 2004 with The Institute of Classical Architecture. For many years, Mr. Reed served as President of Classical America and co-editor of the Classical America Series in Art and Architecture, which has made valuable out-of-print books available while offering new works. Henry Hope Reed’s works also include The New York Public Library: Its Architecture and Decoration and The U.S. Capitol: Its Lesson for Today.