Trailblazer: African American Architect Paul Revere Williams

Image: Paley Estate; Architect, Paul R. Williams; Photographer, Tim Street-Porter

Trailblazing African American architect Paul Revere Williams was nicknamed the "Architect to the Stars." Williams shaped the Hollywood landscape, designing elegant, perfectly proportioned mansions for gilded celebrities like Tyrone Power, Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, and Lucille Ball. His work on iconic commercial buildings ranged from collaborating on the futuristic Googie-styled Theme Building at LAX to remodeling the Beverly Hills Hotel, giving the lobby its tropical flair. Theologian Cecil Murray said of his friend, "Paul R. Williams not only designed buildings. Paul R. Williams designed lives. Paul R. Williams designed the future and dreams of tomorrow." His legacy includes over 2,000 structures, including affordable homes and public housing.

Image: The Beverly Hills Hotel facade; Photographer, Alex Millauer

Williams faced and overcame challenges early on; the Los Angeles native, born in 1894, was orphaned at 4 and placed in foster care. Taken in by a working-class black couple, his foster mother, Emily Clarkson, recognized the young boy's talent and focused on his education and artistic development. Pursuing a career in architecture despite a high school counselor’s advice against it because of his race, Williams landed internships and jobs at prominent, local architecture firms immediately after graduation. He went on to take classes at the Los Angeles Beaux-Arts School and earned his degree from the University of Southern California, where he studied architectural engineering.

Image:  Paul R. Williams painted by Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1948

In 1921, Williams became a certified California architect and the first certified African-American architect west of the Mississippi. To put his white clients at ease, he trained himself to draft upside down so that they could sit across from him. After a meeting, Williams worked through the night to complete the drawings and deliver them the next day, while his competition took weeks.  As a black architect, he did not have the luxury of dictating a narrow aesthetic. To win commissions, he became an expert in a litany of design ideologies and consistently delivered what his clients wanted. Williams' hard work and charm led him to be the first African American architect inducted into the AIA's College of Fellows. In 2017, thirty-seven years after the trailblazer passed away, he received the AIA Gold Medal, the first African American to do so.