Christian Otto

I was recently remembering one of the best classes I've ever taken. Chris taught a survey of the New York Museum that consisted of daily fascinating treks through the city from museum to museum. I remember biting cold that could do little to pull our rapt attention from the stories of the architecture around us, as told by a master historian and lecturer. Chris went on to chair my thesis committee and was one of my best teachers. I think of him often.

Ich lernte Christian Friedrich Otto während meines Studiums in München kennen und war öfter bei ihm und seiner Frau zu Gast. Die Verbindung hielt bis in die 70er Jahre, und ich besuchte ihn und seine Familie - die Tochter Tamara, genannt Poo, war wenige Jahre alt - während meiner USA-Reise 1971 in Ithaca. Als ich während dieser Reise New York besuchte, lernte ich seine Eltern kennen und wohnte bei ihnen in Queens.
Chris war ein warmherziger Mensch, den ich nie vergessen werde vor etwa 15...

I was so sorry to hear, belatedly, of Chris's death. He was a friend and an especially close friend and fellow architectural historian of my late husband, Richard Pommer. He and Dick collaborated on an important study of the Weisenhofstiftung. He was highly intelligent as well as warm and generous. My best wishes to his wife and children. Linda Nochlin/Pommer

I just learned about Chris's death from the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. In the mid-1980s I was a new transplant to NYC at the CUNY Graduate Center and Chris not only taught me Modern Architecture but shepherded me through an unrelated minor in Baroque Architecture--just the two of us. He was so incredibly generous, so warm, such a ray of hope in that environment.
I asked him once before a presentation he was giving if he was nervous, and he told me, "If you aren't...

I was in the summer CAU program a few years back where Chris introduced me to the wonders of architecture. He was an amazing teacher and person. My heartfelt condolences to Roberta and the family.

Dear Family of Christian Otto: My deepest sympathies to you in your time of loss. He was a wonderful delightful sunny person; I enjoyed having him as a professor in 1981-2. Pamela Thurber Duncan, MA 1985 HPP

May the love of friends and family carry you through your grief.

I was in his freshman history of arch. lecture course in 1974. I didn't realize that he was only 33 years old then. He was so smart, light hearted and inspiring (of course a Gemini) and one of the reasons that I stayed in Architecture for the 2nd year (and graduated). I bumped into him in NYC about 15 years ago and told him that he was one of the best Professors (and there weren't/aren't many great ones)in the Arch. school. Chris was appreciative and humble as ever. It appears that he left...