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Do you recognize this building? Construction of the building began in April 1960 and was completed in August 1961. It has been described as a cultural and historical monument. Would it surprise you to know that the building was designed by an architect that happened to be black. His career spanned over six decades, and he designed over 3,000 structures, having a range of architectural styles in his portfolio. He was the first African American certified, west of the Mississippi,
Paul Revere Williiams was born in 1894. His parents were former slaves that migrated to Los Angeles from Memphis, in 1893 with his older brother Chester. His father Chester Sr. passed away from TB in 1996 and his mother Lila passed from the same sickness two years later. Paul and his brother ended up in foster care, until he was adopted by the Clarkson family.
Paul was an excellent draftsman, and at the age of 25, he won an architectural competition. There were few job offers forthcoming, so he eventually opened his own office. Somehow, word of his drafting skills got out and he gathered a few clients. Although his white clients hired him to render their designs, they were uneasy about sitting next to a black man, so he had to learn to sit across the table from them, drafting his visions upside down, so the client could see his presentation right side up.
In the 1920’s Paul was hired by the Austin Architectural Firm and eventually became the chief draftsman, before establishing his own successful firm. In 1939 he won the AIA Award of merit, in recognition of his design of the old MCA building, in on San Vicente in Beverly Hills – presently the site of the Paradigm Talent Agency.
His client list grew to include home designs for Lon Chaney, Bill “Bojangles Robinson, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball , Barbara Stanwyck, Danny Thomas and many other celebrity clients. Although many of his designs can be found outside of “Hollywood” any number of his government, business, residential, and retail creations are to be found right here along the highways and byways that may pass by or visit on a daily basis. Malls, hospitals, restaurants, churches, Court houses, and even a retrofit and expansion of the famous Beverly Hills Hotel, on Sunset are among the many recognizable works of art that we can visit, that were the work of a brilliant and talented black man, born here in Los Angeles, 134 years ago.
Wish him a Belated Heavenly Birthday – Sunday February 18, 1894.
