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In 1933 Los Angeles Mayor Frank Shaw appointed Paul R. Williams to the city’s first Housing Commission, and he shortly thereafter began serving on the National Board of Municipal Housing. His service on these commissions spurred his interest in public housing.  As a result, Williams co-designed the first federally funded housing project in Washington, D.C. 

Pueblo del Rio in Los Angeles was created in 1940 for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles by a team of the city’s most talented designers. The group known as the Southeast Housing Architects, included Paul R. Williams, Richard Neutra, Gordon Kaufman, Adrian Wilson, and the firm Wurdeman & Becket. Pueblo del Rio was the result of their efforts and is an example of mid-century planning ideals and Modern functionalism.  

Taking two years to complete (1941-1942) the Pueblo del Rio Housing Project (52nd Street and Long Beach Avenue), located in one of the older residential areas of Los Angeles, was built to house the city's growing population of defense industry workers.

Covering 17.5 acres and consisting of 57 two-story apartment buildings, the complex was constructed of brick masonry and reinforced concrete while the single story administration building was built solely of masonry. The apartment buildings measured 26 feet 6 inches wide and varied from 84 to 120 feet in length. The buildings contained 6, 7 or 8 units. Individual flats ranged from 3 rooms to 6 ½ rooms. Completed on a tight budget with few frills, the apartments opened onto gardens on both sides allowing light and air to flow through the rooms.

The work on the site began with the clearing of the existing substandard housing. The architects’ design for this housing project was restricted by the existing streets and the limited physical area, necessitating a gridiron pattern. The children in image 5 are seen on the stoop of their new home. All the buildings have a courtyard with adjoining rear yards, giving the units a California outdoor-living feeling.

The children in image 6 play on the front lawn of their unit at Pueblo del Rio, showing the design of an entrance front. Exterior walls were originally painted in shades of tan and off-white with a chocolate dado. This 1940s architectural design by the Southeast Housing Authority was considered modern in its time with wide overhang for the flat roofs, spacious windows, and simple lines and proportioning. 

Image 7 shows children playing on the swings in the housing project's playground designed by the landscape architect Ralph Cornell.

The project was completed two months ahead of schedule.  The accelerated building progress was due to excellent winter weather and to the system of construction and contractor’s methods of operation used for the first time on this particular site.