Our Origin Story

I believe I have an interesting story to tell regarding my decision to select architecture as a life path to follow. My father Vito Palermo, who was a first generation American, and a depression era child, left high school in Manhattan to enlist in the army at the outbreak of World War II. Because of the early termination of his formal education, my father wanted his two sons to develop a love of school so as not to leave until their completion of high school and hopefully college.

Since we lived in the lower east side of Manhattan, we had the convenience and good fortune of visiting many Wall Street District landmarks and other interesting sites. Every Saturday, my dad and I would walk down to this area and visit Trinity Church and look at the revolutionary era gravestones which were historical reminders of our American heritage. We would also walk to Wall Street’s George Washington's inaugural Monument and the Federal Museum which showed us the marine history of the viable port of New York as an entry point to America. We would also travel to Battery Park and take the Ferry rides on occasion, which cost a whopping nickel at the time.

Also, in our weekend travels we would walk along Nassau Street which was then famous for its stamps, coins, and book stores. My dad believed in exposing his young son to many aspects of life which he had missed. Once when going down a side street, we came upon a used book store with stacks of used books on shelves in front of the store. These magnificent volumes were available for a whole quarter to a half dollar at that time. Browsing through the books, I picked up a small black volume that was titled “How to Build a Log Cabin” by Audel Books, a noted ‘How to build things’ publisher at that time. I was mesmerized by the step by step drawings showing the assembly of logs and timbers to actually build your own log cabin. Excitedly I asked my dad if he could purchase this 25 cent bargain for me which he did happily. Later that day on return to our apartment; I read this little manual from end to end. I then asked my Dad, what occupation could I pursue (I was only 11 years old at the time) to do those drawings which fascinated me. He thought for a little while before he answered me and then blurted out that you would have to be an architect to do those drawings and design that specific cabin.

That was it, I immediately was on the road to become an architect and later chose Brooklyn Technical High School and then the City College of New York as my educational path. Years later, I would always remind my dad of that special Saturday afternoon in New York where he took me for a walk to discover my dream. Over sixty years later I still have no regrets and tried to instill in all my interns over the years to love the amazing art that the profession of architecture really is.

-Robert Palermo President RA. AIA.