Marvelous Men: Paul Williams

Paul Williams was born in Los Angeles on February 18, 1894. Orphaned at the age of four, he was raised by foster parents. Williams always had a talent for drawing, and in high school, he decided he wanted to become an architect. A guidance counselor tried to steer him toward medicine or law, reasoning that black people would always need doctors and lawyers, but they wouldn't need fancy houses and office buildings. Encouraged by his family, Williams persevered and worked for several architecture firms through his teens and twenties, and eventually enrolled at the USC School of Engineering. Williams won a Pasadena city planning competition in 1919, and in 1921, he became the first black certified architect west of the Mississippi. He started his own firm shortly thereafter, and through serious effort and determination, gradually built a thriving practice.

Attracting clients was difficult for Williams due to racial prejudice, but he adapted his practice and survived. He became skilled at drawing upside down so that he could sit across from uncomfortable clients while sketching instead of next to them, and he made it a habit to keep his hands folded behind his back when meeting clients so that they wouldn't be made uneasy by shaking hands with a black man. He took small commissions that were rejected by larger, more prestigious firms, and worked hard to provide an exceptional level of service. While large firms took weeks to produce drawings for their clients, Williams took days. By the 1930s, Williams had obtained several important residential commissions and cemented his position as the high society architect who would leave a permanent signature on Beverly Hills.

Williams designed over 2,000 private homes over the course of his career, most of which had segregation covenants in their deeds, preventing black people from purchasing them. He redesigned the Beverly Hills hotel to include its now classic script and color scheme, and created the iconic interior of Saks in Beverly Hills. He also designed the first federally funded housing project in the country, as well as a YMCA and several housing projects in south Los Angeles.

It's difficult to pinpoint or label Williams's style. This is due in part to the fact that he prioritized his clients' desires, and while he refined their taste, he never imposed his own. Common elements in his work include narrow columns, delicate ironwork, curved staircases, dramatic entryways, high ceilings, and broad, uncluttered surfaces.

Here are some examples of Williams's residential work:

One of his most famous designs, now sadly gone, was Perino's in Hancock Park.