|“If I allow the fact that I am Negro to checkmate my will to do, now, I will inevitably form the habit of being defeated.”|
Williams grew up as an orphan, and he struggled to gain encouragement for his artistic talents. He continued to hone his talents for design throughout his youth, despite teachers telling him not to pursue a career in architecture, simply because he was black. However, Williams’ persistence would begin to pay off. He studied at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design, then moving on to attend the University of Southern California’s School of Engineering, earning commissions for designing several homes in Los Angeles.
|Williams' design for the Lucille Ball + Desi Arnaz Residence in Palm Springs|
By 1919, at age 25, Williams won an important architectural competition that he thought would jump-start his career. However, as he struggled to gain attention for his design work, he perfected his drafting skills to make himself indispensable. After becoming the first black registered architect west of the Mississippi in 1921, he worked for Los Angeles architect John C. Austin, eventually becoming chief draftsman at the firm. It was here where he developed the skill of rendering upside down for clients who may have been uncomfortable sitting next to a black architect. By 1924, he struck out on his own to open his own firm.
Still struggling to gain notoriety, Williams found that to survive, he had to take commissions that more prominent white architects had rejected. Not one to cave in to the pressure, Williams became more politically active, and focused on his passion of residential design. He mastered modern interpretations of several styles, including Tudor-revival, French Chateau, and Mediterranean vernacular. As the Great Depression took a toll on the public side of his business, he went on to design hundreds of homes for the wealthy elite Hollywood stars of the day, located mostly in the Hollywood Hills, Bel Air, and Mid-Wilshire areas of Los Angeles.
|Williams at the opening of the LAX Theme Building in 1961 [Image courtesy USC]|
Over his five-decade career, Paul Williams designed over 3000 buildings, earned numerous awards, donated his time to several political and social organizations, and became one of the most respected architects of the 20th century. As the pioneering first African-American to become a Fellow of the AIA in 1957, Williams’ significance is still being felt throughout the design world today.
Learn more about Paul Williams’ work at www.paulrwilliamsproject.org.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Black History Month Contest to help make it a successful effort. Learn more about the other designers we profiled by clicking here.