Paul R. Williams (American Institute of Architects)
Paul R. Williams has left a legacy in the city of Los Angeles. The esteemed Black architect designed most of the city’s major landmarks from the 1920s throughout the 1960s.
Williams broke racial barriers, becoming the first African American member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Right out of high school in 1912, he landed internships and jobs at prominent, local architecture firms, according to the Los Angeles Conservatory. Defying the racial odds, he ultimately attended the University of Southern California’s School of Engineering.
His body of work helped shape the L.A. landscape. Williams retired in 1973, 50 years after opening his practice. He died in 1980 at the age of 85.
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Williams was born in downtown Los Angeles in 1894, but before he turned 4, both of his parents died of tuberculosis, leaving him an orphan. He was then raised by a family friend, who encouraged him to follow his passions, NPR reported. Williams decided he wanted to design homes for families despite the odds. He went on to become an architect.
In 1920, he was appointed to the first Los Angeles City Planning Commission. The following year, he became a certified architect, and by 1923 he opened his own practice. Williams later served as an architect for the Navy during World War II.
Williams was so accomplished in his field that he’s been called the “Michael Jordan of African American architects.”
And, during his career, he received numerous accolades, including the AIA Award of Merit, the NAACP Spingarn Medal, and USC’s Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1957, he became the first African American to become an AIA Fellow. Williams was posthumously awarded the AIA’s 2017 Gold Medal, the highest honor for an architect in the U.S. Williams is the first African American to receive that honor
Many of Los Angeles’ landmark buildings were drafted by Williams.
Williams, for example, was part of the LAX airport planning and design team. His groundbreaking designs also include the Los Angeles County Courthouse, the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, Hillside Memorial Park, Westwood Medical Center, and First AME Church.
He also did a number of residential projects. He designed almost 2,000 homes in Los Angeles alone, many for the wealthy and Hollywood stars.
Williams built homes for Frank Sinatra; Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz; Cary Grant, and Danny Thomas.
Williams’ career spanned almost six decades, and he designed more than 3,000 structures in a range of architectural styles. But his success wasn’t always easy. He had to deal with racism throughout his career.
According to his granddaughter Karen E. Hudson, Williams made adjustments to address the prevailing racism of his era.
“He taught himself to draw upside down so white clients wouldn’t be uncomfortable sitting next to him,” Hudson told NPR, adding, “It became one of the things he was known for.”
And, when he toured construction sites, he’d have his hands clasped behind his back because he wasn’t sure every person would want to shake a Black man’s hand.
In a 1937 essay for American Magazine called “I Am a Negro,” he spoke of his challenges.
“Virtually everything pertaining to my professional life during those early years was influenced by my need to offset race prejudice, by my effort to force white people to consider me as an individual rather than a member of a race,” he wrote. “I encountered irreconcilables who simply refused to give me a hearing, but on the whole, I have been treated with amazing fairness.”
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), a nonprofit that helps establish state guidelines for exams and licenses, reported that as of 2022, there were 121,603 licensed architects working in the U.S., and only 2% — 2,492 — are Black, NPR reported. Of those, only 566 are Black women.
Paul R. Williams (American Institute of Architects, https://www.aia.org/showcases/23066-paul-revere-williams-faia)
