
For an intimately sized audience seated in the Billiard Room of the Virginia Robinsons’ Pool Pavilion on March 21, 2024, Marc Appleton and Bret Parsons presented a retrospective talk on the career of noted architect Paul R. Williams (1894-1980). They provided great depth and insight into the man and his astonishing career as an architect. Williams was the first black man accepted into the American Institute of Architecture. And who some 20 years into his career, obtained the pristine status as a “Fellow” in this organization.

When Williams was born, his father was selling fruits and vegetables off a cart on Olvera Street in Los Angeles. Orphaned and separated from his younger brother at the age of four, he was raised by the Clarksons, his foster parents. Williams supplemented his family’s income by selling newspapers. Financially, he and his foster parents lived frugally, but the Clarksons taught the young man high social standards and the value of public education. When Williams made known his dream to be an architect, it was dismissed by those close to him, thought to be unrealistic, and it was not encouraged. This stance was presumably intended to prevent further disappointment in the young man’s life. He was encouraged to choose a career path more traditional for an African American in the early 20th century.
Recalcitrant, Williams never relented and through his perseverance and determination, he attended the University of Southern California with a major in architectural engineering. He married Della Mae Givens in 1917, and they raised two daughters.
After Williams passed away, Karen Hutson, his granddaughter provided many anecdotal stories about his practice to authors seeking to write about “Hollywood’s Architect’’ and his illustrious career. She depicted him as a good family man, who designed over 3,000 projects over five decades. He was known for his uncanny ability to distill from the client their ultimate design intent, recognizing they did not always know what they desired. Williams strived for excellence and client satisfaction; the path he forged has secured inspiration for young architects to this day.
Williams was well known for his Classical Revival approach to residential design. However, he also designed churches and low-income housing. Most of his residential design was in neighborhoods where covenants prohibited African Americans from buying property. Social prejudice during most of his career required that he learn to sketch upside down while sitting across the table from his clients, not sitting next to them, which was unacceptable at the time. He dressed sensibly in custom-designed clothing because he felt it was important to dress the part of an architect.
Clients most appreciated Williams’ attention to architectural details, and he was perhaps known best for his eloquently curving staircases. One detail not necessarily expressed to his client was his design of oversized servants’ quarters to provide household servants ample living space when not on duty.
Over the years, he designed several family homes in Los Angeles and lived in Lafayette Square until his death at the age of 86 in 1980. Lafayette Square in proximity to the city of Beverly Hills, where his wife was not permitted to visit hair salons because of her race. This prompted Williams to build a salon in their home, where the stylist would come to fix her hair.
Most unfortunately, after the reading of the Rodney King verdict on April 29, 1992, a significant portion of Willams’ archive was lost to fire during the Watts riots. The remaining archive is housed at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
After the lecture, there was a book signing for two books published by Angel City Press on the series of Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940 — Paul R. Williams and Gordon B. Kaufman. Scott McAuley, the co-founder of this highly regarded publisher, was present at the event. After thirty years in the business, Scott is retiring, and the Los Angeles Public Library has acquired Angel City Press.

A big thank you to Superintendent Diane Sipos who curated this series of lectures on “Master Architects” and to Jeanne Anderson for a delicious repast of beignets from Beignets du Monde, fruit, and chicory coffee. Thanks also to Emina Darakjy for providing cookies and to President Lynn Whitaker for bringing bagels.
Post by Timothy Lindsay
Superintendent Emeritus of The Virginia Robinson Gardens
Event Photos by Linda Meadows
Friends of Robinson Gardens Board Member
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