The George Nocito Collection - Lewes Study [1980.2] is a unique resource that documents Lewes' architectural historic, and natural resources between 1972 and 1974. Inspired by the recent efforts of the Lewes Planning Commission to inventory and plan for Lewes' future, Dr. Nocito (a professor of art at the University of Delaware) saw an opportunity to incorporate his interests in urban aesthetics with a real problem being faced by Lewes in the 1960s and 1970s - how to welcome economic development without sacrificing the aesthetic beauty that Lewes held. It is a question that Lewes is still grappling with today bu through the lens of George Nocito, Lewes has both saved and irretrievably lost much of its architectural and natural heritage. And, as history often teaches us, we realize that we are not the first generation to face such choices.

At the conclusion of his study, Dr. Nocito held a discussion entitled The Future of the Past. This discussion culminated his efforts to see Lewes as it was in the early 1970s, what resources it had retained, what current residents held close to their hearts (and what they thought severely eroded Lewes' aesthetics), and what they thought should be done. The collection is truly a unique and invaluable resource for researchers interested in city and regional planning as well as those today considering the same issues in Lewes today that George Nocito approached 30 years ago.