Paul R. Williams, Architect: A Legacy of StyleOne of the most important Los Angeles architects, Paul R. Williams' prolific career extended from the 1920s to the 1970s. His vast body of built work stretches across the world from Paris and Colombia to Washington, D.C., New York, and Memphis. However, the Los Angeles area was his personal and professional focus. Overcoming incredible prejudice in an all-white field, Williams became the first African American admitted to the A.I.A and designed over 3,000 projects, including the Jetsons-like theme building at Los Angeles International Airport, Saks Fifth Avenue and W. & J. Sloane's department stores in Beverly Hills, the famous Beverly Hills and Ambassador hotels, and renowned celebrity haunts, such as Chasen's and Perino's restaurants. He also designed mansions for Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Tyrone Power, William "Bojangles" Robinson, Lon Chaney, and other entertainers. While Williams had extraordinary facility with the historical styles popular in southern California at the time, he was equally adept at modern design, as seen in his work for Fisk and Howard universities, Saint Jude Hospital in Memphis, and several banks, churches, and country clubs. Karen E. Hudson, a third-generation Angeleno, is the granddaughter of Paul R. Williams and director of his archives. She chronicles the African-American experience in Los Angeles in writings and photographs. David Gebhard, the renowned historian, was a professor of architectural history and Curator of the Architectural Drawing Collection of the Art Museum at the University of Santa Barbara. Call-out: The first architectural monograph of Williams' extraordinary and inspiring achievements. |
Other editions - View all
Paul R. Williams, Architect: A Legacy of Style Karen E. Hudson,Paul R. Williams No preview available - 2000 |
Common terms and phrases
African-American Air Beverly Hills American Angeles Los Angeles APPROACH TO PLANNING Architect & Engineer ARCHITECT'S APPROACH Arrowhead Springs ATKIN RESIDENCE Austin AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES automobile Bel Air Bel Air Bel Bel Air Beverly Beverly Hills Beverly BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL Bogotá Brentwood Brentwood Brentwood buildings built Church City clients Club Colombia color commissions DATE PROJECT develop door E. L. Cord E. L. CORD RESIDENCE entrance exterior Feliz garden Georgian Hancock Park Hills Beverly Hills Holmby Hills Homes for Today Housing Project INFLUENCE OF PLANNING interior joint venture Lake Arrowhead living room Los Feliz Malibu MAN'S DESTINY mansions MedellĂn modern Music Corporation NEGRO Nevada Pacific Palisades Palm Springs Pasadena Paul Williams PLANNING ON MAN'S Pueblo del Rio race Residence alterations/additions Residence Beverly Hills Residence Charles Residence Flintridge RESIDENTIAL DESIGN Saks Fifth Avenue Santa Small Home Southern California Southwest Builder style Toluca Lake Vegas walls Westwood WILLIAMS ARCHITECT