Obituary: David Dillon, architecture and design critic, writer and lecturer
David Dillon, 68, architecture critic, writer and lecturer in the Department of Art, Architecture and Art History’s Architecture + Design program, died at home in Amherst on June 3.
Born August 24, 1941, in Fitchburg, he graduated from Fitchburg High School and Boston College before earning master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University in literature.
Specializing in Renaissance literature, he taught at Southern Methodist University in Dallas before joining the staff of the Dallas Morning News in 1981. He worked there until 2006, most prominently as its full-time architecture critic, garnering acclaim for his reviews and critiques of new civic buildings and of city development plans or land use projects.
In 1986, Dillon was selected as a Loeb Fellow at Harvard's Graduate School of Design and was repeatedly nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in criticism. He received awards from The Associated Press, the Dallas Press Club, and the Texas Society of Architects. He published a dozen books on architecture, wrote hundreds of articles for publications including the Harvard Design Review and Architectural Record, and frequently served as a juror on architecture and design competitions. His interest in large scale architectural and planning projects led to his being appointed as author of Extending the Legacy, the new plan for Washington, DC, as well as for the White House, President’s Park, and the World War II memorial.
Beginning in 1995, Dillon split his time between Dallas and Amherst, where he settled permanently with his family after retiring from the Dallas Morning News. In recent years he has taught courses in writing and architecture at both UMass Amherst and Amherst College.
In a June 5 obituary, the Dallas Morning News’ Scott Cantrell wrote, “A wordsmith of finely chiseled phrases and sometimes devastating wit, Mr. Dillon brought Dallas architecture to national attention, and he introduced local readers to important architectural developments elsewhere. His singular critical voice helped shape civic debate on issues across North Texas, from underdevelopment in South Dallas to the evolution of the downtown Arts District to sprawl in the northern suburbs. He wrote as avidly about little-known local architects doing good work as about international stars.”
He leaves his wife, Sally, a fiber artist; a son, Christopher, of Providence, R.I.; a daughter, Catherine, of Holyoke; and his mother-in-law, Constance Hall, of Fitchburg. Services were held June 8 in Amherst. Donations in his memory may be made to the Gladney Center for Adoption , the Lupus Foundation of America , the Friends of the Fitchburg Public Library.
The Architecture+Design Program will also honor David in an event planned for the Fall.
More Information
Dallas Morning News Obituary
June 8, 2010.
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