African-American architect Paul Revere Williams left his mark in Long Beach

[aesop_image imgwidth=”300px” img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2017-02-23-at-4.51.46-PM.png” credit=”Photos courtesy Herald-Examiner Collection | Los Angeles Public Library” align=”left” lightbox=”on” caption=”Noted 20th-Century architect Paul Revere Williams will be honored posthumously by the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) in Orlando, Florida this April. He was not only the first African-American architect to gain membership into the AIA in 1923, but he also eventually became the first African-American Fellow of the institute. The AIA will be honoring him with the gold medal, the institute’s highest award.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”] By: CJ Dablo
Staff Writer
Paul Revere Williams had already gained recognition for his career as an architect to the Hollywood stars in the mid 20th Century, and this April, he will be honored in Orlando, Florida by the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) with a gold medal, the institute’s highest annual award.
The AIA issued a press release on its website to note some of his major accomplishments.
“An architect whose work carried the glamour of classic Southern California style to the rest of the world,” the AIA stated, “Williams was the among the first black students admitted to the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, the first black architect to become a member of the AIA, and, later, the first black member to be inducted into the Institute’s College of Fellows.”
Born in 1894 in Los Angeles, Williams overcame numerous obstacles in order to gain entry into the world of architecture and eventually become a premier designer to Los Angeles elite. Williams was orphaned by the age of 4 and then raised by a foster mother whom the family had known through his church. Karen Elyse Hudson, his granddaughter and biographer, noted that while his foster mother wasn’t a professional, she still instilled in Williams that he could be whoever he wanted to be.
That confidence came in handy. In the prime of his career in mid-20th Century Southern California, the times were not easy for a black man who would have to work with the wealthy, powerful and largely white elite. The Paul R. Williams Project, a collaboration between members of the American Institute of Architects and the Art Museum of the University of Memphis, detailed how Williams had adapted to potentially racist clients. He learned to draw upside down when he met with clients to discuss a design, in order to accommodate those who might feel uncomfortable sitting next to him. That way, they could sit across the table.
Karen Elyse Hudson, Williams’s granddaughter and biographer, said in a phone interview with the Signal Tribune that she hoped people of color will especially remember her grandfather’s lessons in “the importance of using your imagination for creative problem-solving.”
According to the Paul R. Williams Project, a teacher discouraged Williams from pursuing architecture, since it would be hard for him to win clients in the majority white community and since the smaller black community would not provide enough work. Hudson praised her grandfather’s legacy.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”250px” img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2017-02-23-at-4.51.57-PM.png” align=”left” lightbox=”on” caption=”Long Beach has a connection to architect Paul R. Williams, who designed parts of the Roosevelt Naval Base, including its administration building. The buildings were eventually demolished after the base shut down in the 1990s.” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off”] “So, if your problem is that somebody doesn’t want to give you the job, or someone does not want to speak to you, or someone feels they don’t feel comfortable sitting with you, you use your imagination,” she said. “You figure out a way to keep your eyes on the prize.”
Williams went on to design thousands of properties, especially in Southern California. He is well known for designing homes for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and Frank Sinatra, but he also took on civic projects. It is believed that he designed the Theme Building, with its iconic arches and observation deck at the Los Angeles Airport, although that fact is difficult to confirm. Along with Adrian Wilson, he designed buildings at the Roosevelt Naval Base in Long Beach. In addition, he also designed two homes in the Virginia Country Club area.
Nancy Latimer is a member of Long Beach Heritage, an education and advocacy organization. She noted the Navy’s significance in the area.
“The Navy base was the historic Roosevelt base, as it was ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1940s and became the home for the Pacific Fleet,” Latimer said in a statement to the Signal Tribune. “The Navy has had a huge impact on Long Beach since many built homes here, raised families here and many retired here.”
Louise Ivers, an emeritus professor at the Art Department at California State University Dominguez Hills, noted that Williams adapted to his clients.
“He was really well known for these houses that he designed for Hollywood movie stars and other people of that ilk,” Ivers said in a phone interview. “He designed those houses in a style that was more, shall we say, expressive of grandeur whereas the Naval-base buildings!were pretty stripped down, modern.”
[aesop_image imgwidth=”200px” img=”https://signal-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2017-02-23-at-4.52.05-PM.png” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”Architect Paul Williams over the course of his career adapted his buildings to suit the needs of his clients. Many of the buildings at the navy base in Long Beach featured strong modern elements.” captionposition=”right” revealfx=”off”] Ivers noted “horizontal bands of windows” and “juxtaposed cubicle spaces” at the buildings at the Navy base. Those homes in Long Beach sometimes had colonial-style motifs and weren’t strictly modern. He also had designed parts of a home in Park Estates formerly owned by Lloyd Whaley.
Phil Freelon, an African-American architect from North Carolina, was delighted to see that Williams is finally receiving recognition. Freelon is a member of the AIA, and like Williams is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
“[I] admired his work,” Freelon said, “and was fairly in awe of what he was able to accomplish so many years ago ! during a period in our country’s history where it was all the more difficult for an African-American to make his or her way in a profession that remains not very diverse at all.”
Williams died in 1980. Hudson will be receiving the AIA’s gold-medal award on behalf of her grandfather. She said she was surprised that he was the first black member of the AIA to receive the medal, more than 90 years after his induction into the exclusive professional association. She said that her grandfather teaches her the importance of doing whatever you loved well.
“Excellence was something he cherished,” Hudson said.