Peter Louis Armato

Peter Armato was born to Jasper Armato and Leona Armato (Ciulla) on December 19, 1953 in Houston, Texas. As the grandson of four Italian immigrant grandparents, Peter always took pride in his Italian heritage. He greatly admired his grandmother Ciulla – known for her cooking. He learned cooking from her, and eventually became one of the best cooks anyone knew. Cooking remained one of his lifelong passions. He loved cooking for others. (And they loved his cooking.)

Peter displayed a keen intelligence early on. In high school, he placed second in Number Sense in the Texas statewide academic competition. He was a graduate of Waltrip High School in Houston. He was accepted into Rice University in Houston.

Peter had a highly developed sense of equity and social justice and devoted much of his life to making the lives of others better. In his twenties, Peter was the vice president of the Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations and the treasurer of Harris County Democrats. He temporarily suspended his studies at Rice to work for the late Congressman Mickey Leland in Houston. Peter ran for office himself in 1980. Although his campaign was unsuccessful, it did not dampen his enthusiasm for translating ideals into action.

Peter resumed his studies at Rice after his campaign. He graduated in 1982 with a major in urban studies – a major he designed himself.

Peter then refocused his efforts on making cities – in particular, downtowns -- better places to live. He became an expert on urban issues such as transportation, adaptive reuse, redevelopment, parking, historic preservation, and development incentives. He began his urban advocate career at the South Main Center Association in Houston. He later became the CEO of Houston East End Progress Association, the Business and Professional Association of Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Savannah Development and Renewal Authority, Bellevue (WA) Downtown Association, Downcity Partnership (Providence, RI), West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority, and Central Dallas Association. He also worked for CEOs For Cities. His efforts in Savannah earned him the unofficial moniker, “the Mayor of Broughton Street.” Peter rose to national prominence in his field and became a member of the executive committee of the board of directors of the International Downtown Association.

Peter was a born leader. He possessed that rare quality: true charisma. If you saw a group of people huddled around someone at a function or a party, the person at the center of that huddle would be Peter.

Peter’s other lifelong passion, besides cooking, was gardening. He was also the best gardener that most people ever knew. Everyplace he lived became a showplace. His knowledge was encyclopedic. It was not only his avocation, but became his vocation. In his later years, he operated Janus Gardens, a landscaping design and maintenance service based in Washington, D.C.

Peter died suddenly at home – in his garden – on August 17, 2019.

Peter was predeceased by his parents, and by sister Lucia and brother Jay. He is survived by brother Anthony (Beatriz) and niece Stephanie and nephew Anthony Louis; brother Vince (Norma) and nephews Vincent Michael and Nicolas; and longtime companion Randall Reaves.

A celebration of life will be held in Tucson, Arizona on August 7, 2021.

Memorial contributions may be made to Maryknoll.