Paul Revere Williams
Through Time
The Timeline illustrates how material history, society and the work of one person, Paul R. Williams, integrate and interact. Small changes in society, architecture or life may seem inconsequential, but when connected a powerful picture emerges. The Timeline illustrates how many forces shape our modern life. Williams’ life did not form in isolation but was a product of complex energies in society, his profession and within himself.
The Timeline illustrates how material history, society and the work of one person, Paul R. Williams, integrate and interact. Small changes in society, architecture or life may seem inconsequential, but when connected a powerful picture emerges. The Timeline illustrates how many forces shape our modern life. Williams’ life did not form in isolation but was a product of complex energies in society, his profession and within himself.
Timeline
Select year to view
1910
In June 1912 Paul R. Williams graduates with a class of 174 students from Polytechnic High School, Los Angeles. Polytechnic High School is described in a June 21 Los Angeles Times (1912) article as “the acme of present day high school educational results.”
For the next four years he pursues a self-directed education studying architecture and improving his skills. As a member of the Los Angeles Architectural Club, he participates in the training and competitions offered through the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects (1913-1916); he studies architecture at the University of Southern California (1916-1919); he works as an apprentice in the offices of local architects and landscape designers.
Fine Send-Off to Fine Class
Los Angeles Times, June 21, 1912
Stirring Commencement of Polytechnic High.
Graduates Impressive as the Diplomas Are Given.
“The high school career of 174 young men and women of the Polytechnic High School culminated at the Auditorium last night. The summer 1912 class represents the acme of present day high school educational results.”
Williams graduates with the class of 1912.
1911
1912
Decade at a Glance
The 1910 census counts 92,407,000 Americans. One in 1000 marriages ends in divorce. The average worker earns $75 per year while a Ziegfield showgirl on Broadway earns $75 per week. Corrine Griffith, a future Paul R. Williams client, is pictured here as an early Ziegfield showgirl.
As industry expands, 2.1 million American workers join unions and participate in 1,204 labor strikes across the country. There is much social and labor unrest.
Movies are popular. Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Pearl White are America’s favorite movie stars.
The 1910 census data, lists Paul R. Williams living with Emily P. Clarkson at 784 E. 15th Street in Los Angeles. Clarkson is later variously described as Williams’ foster mother, godmother or guardian.
In a 1970 interview with Maggie Savoy, LA Times’ Women’s Editor, Williams’ describes Charles Clarkson as his foster father. The First AME Church dedication stone (Williams is a life-long member of the church) lists “C. I. Clarkson” as a trustee in 1903. It is possible that this church elder is the same Clarkson who fosters the orphaned, 4-year-old Paul R. Williams.
In 1963 Williams contributes design plans for a new building for the church at 25th and LaSalle.
1913
By 1913, Paul R. Williams is working in the firm of landscape architect/city planner Wilbur D. Cook, Jr. where he gains experience in integrating house and garden design plans. Cook’s ideas influence Williams’ designs and are evident in the extensive landscaping for the 1926 Baird/Stewart/Garza House.
Cook is known for his landscaping work in Southern California including the original gardens at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the City Park in Anaheim –now Pearson Park and Irving Gill’s Dodge House. Cook recognizes Williams’ superior drafting and drawing skills when he assigns him the task of creating the hand drawn perspective sketches for the park in Anaheim.
This photograph is a contemporary image of the Dodge House. Paul Williams’ original illustrations for the city park in Anaheim are included in the Ralph D. Cornell Papers and can be viewed online via Calisphere.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory is considered the largest workplace disaster in New York City history until September 11, 2001. Over 140 garment workers die. The Fire Marshal concludes that the cause of the fire is a burning match or cigarette tossed into a scrap bin. The fire department is not able to reach the top floors with ladders to rescue the workers who are locked in the factory. Most of the factory workers die when they jump from the 9th and 10th floors.
After the fire, legislation is passed to improve safety standards in factories and tall buildings.
1914
La Jolla Woman’s Club
The La Jolla Woman’s Club in San Diego is established in 1894 as a forum “to promote the intellectual and social culture of its members.” With financial support from Ellen Browning Scripps, the members select architect Irving Gill to design a clubhouse in 1913. Influenced by the California mission-style, the clubhouse is one of Gill’s most noted buildings. Gill is known for using an innovative tilt-slab construction system with reinforced concrete. The building is rectangular in form with simple arched openings and little decorative embellishment. The usable space is expanded through planned gardens and a series of pergola structures.
First Air Conditioning System in Private Home
In the U.S. early air conditioning systems are used to control humidity in department stores, food processing and other manufacturing plants. The equipment is big, loud, and uses ammonia, a toxic chemical, as the coolant. The first home air conditioner is designed in 1913 for Charles Gilbert Gates’ million-dollar, lakeside, Minneapolis mansion. Gates, a flamboyant entrepreneur known for his large tips and love of fast locomotives, announces his plans to build a “cottage” for his new bride. Gates insists that the 38,000 square feet, stone-faced, Renaissance Revival-style residence has the best and latest of everything including America’s first residential air conditioning system. Gates dies of “apoplexy” during a hunting expedition before his home is finished.
In 1945 Paul R. Williams writes new air conditioning technologies will be important for the future development of the American small home. The architect predicts that individual Precipitron cooling units combined with new insulation materials and all-weather windows will tame the heat of summer and open new geographic areas for development.
After working with Cook, Williams writes that he works for Reginald Davis Johnson from 1914 to 1917. (1942 AIA document) Johnson, a Pasadena architect, is noted for designing luxury homes. His revival residential designs with patios, loggias and courtyards aim to create a “true California style” appropriate to the climate and way of life. (California Southland, Sept. 26, 1926) Williams’ work is influenced by these ideas.
In an interview Williams remembers his early career with Johnson. “The first thing he did was put me on a $100,000 home in Santa Barbara. I’d never been in a house that cost more than $10,000. I couldn’t guess how a person could spend that much money. I soon found out.” (Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1970)
How to Handle “Four Corners”
Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1914
Architects Offer Ideas for Neighborhood Centers
Liberal Prizes Bring Forth Interesting Sketches
Contest Believed Impetus to City Planning
“The committee of award, comprising Architects John C. Austin, Elmer Grey and Albert R. Walker of Los Angeles, gave the first prize of $200 to Paul R. Williams, No. 1530 21st Street Los Angeles.”
How to Handle “Four Corners”Registers for the Draft
On June 5, 1917, Williams registers for the U.S. military draft. He self reports that he is an architectural draftsman working for Reginald Johnson.
Marries and Begins Work for Arthur Kelly
Williams marries Della Mae Givens on June 27, 1917. Della supports his career by “providing him with a comfortable setting in which he could visualize, create and turn his ideas into structures.” (Los Angeles Sentinel, August 8, 1996) The Williams become a “power” couple on the social and philanthropic scene of Los Angeles.
He begins working with Arthur Kelly whose design practice specializes in hotels, residences and public buildings. Williams works for Kelly from 1917 to 1921. (AIA papers) An example of Kelly’s work is the dormitory (image) at Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles. Playboy Mansion West, Hugh Hefner’s Los Angeles residence, is another of Kelly’s designs.
Enters 2nd White Pine Architectural Competition
Williams submits an entry to a national competition sponsored by the influential White Pine Monograph Series to design a house for $12,500. He doesn’t win a prize, but his entry is published in an issue of The Independent, one of the first national publications to reproduce his work. Williams’ design entry is described in the article as an “unsymmetrical plan … with picturesque exterior … Practicability has not been sacrificed to make the design interesting.”
Famous Tract to be Opened
Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1917
Flintridge Will Go Way of Other Land Domains
Miles of Scenic Boulevards Built by Owner
“Flintridge, the well-known property of former United States Senator Frank P. Flint (image) in La Cañada Valley, is to go the way of other great suburban land holdings in the vicinity of Los Angeles. Announcement is made that the entire 1500 acres comprised within the tract will at once be placed upon the market.”
Not Too Proud To Fight
Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1917
“In the outburst of patriotic enthusiasm of the American people, all but six United States Senators voted for a declaration of a state of war with Germany.”
America enters World War I on April 6, 1917.
War effort reduces building projects
In 1919 Harold E. Paddon reminisces about how the war effects the business of architecture.
“During our country’s participation in the world’s conflict, the government put a ban on building with a view to stimulating every energy in the one big purpose, i.e., to win the war, and it was considered unpatriotic to invest any money in construction work during that period. Practically all the wheels of necessary progress on building were at a standstill, with the result that at present (1919) there is an acute shortage of dwellings … Federal authorities, seeing these conditions, have published bullentins stating that it is now a patriotic duty to build.” (Architecture, July 1919)
White Pine Architectural Competition
Williams wins a Mention in 1918 for his design for a Lakeside Home in a national competition sponsored by the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs. In 1919 he enters the same competition with plans for a Community Centre Building. This design receives Special Mention by the panel of judges. “… it is an expression of a Community Center Group, has the charm of a New England town, and the Community Building is unmistakably a wooden structure.”
Renderings for both winning entries are published in the Monograph Series and can be seen in the Gallery.
Paul R. Williams’ simple, compact, and “well thought out” entry for the Hollow Tile House Competition is awarded first place by a panel of important regional architects including John C. Austin. The judges write that Williams’ superior renderings, tasteful exterior treatment and lack of “useless ornaments” contribute to the ease and economy of construction. His landscape design fits with Southern California conditions and extends the useable living space.
Designs Winning First and Second Prizes in Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company’s Architectural Competition
Southwest Builder and Contractor, Dec 26, 1919
One-story Hollow Tile House to cost $5,000
First Prize Drawings
Paul Williams, Designer, Los Angeles
Julia Morgan designs Hearst Castle (La Cuesta Encantada)
Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst inherits a 240,000 acre ranch near the Pacific Ocean in 1919. He hires Julia Morgan to design a grand castle for La Cuesta Encantada, the Enchanted Hill. Morgan is a pioneering female architect in California in the early 20th century. She is the first woman graduate of both Beaux Arts School in Paris and the School of Engineering at the University of California in Berkeley. She receives these degrees before women were allowed to vote.
Morgan and Hearst jointly supervise building the castle. The relationship is successful as Morgan believes the architect should be a semi-anonymous contributor guided by the “spiritual needs” of the client. Designing a building from the inside out, Morgan’s style reflects many ancient and historic sources. La Cuesta Encantada is described by architectural historians as “a hodge-podgery of art and architecture…excessive in decoration but it suited Hearst perfectly. It was a proper monument to this man of extravagance and excess as no classic pile would have been.”
Morgan and Hearst would continue work on the castle until his death in 1951. La Casa Grande, three guesthouses, outdoor and indoor pools, support buildings, terraces, gardens and all furnishings are donated to the State of California in 1958.
Quarantine Again On
Redondo Breeze, December 13, 1918
“TO THE PUBLIC. The Board of Health of Redondo Beach asks of every residence of our city to act as a committee of one to assist in stamping out the epidemic which is in our midst. Let each person be sure that he is not a possible means of spreading this disease which has caused more deaths among our people than did the European war.”
1914
In 1914 California architect Irving John Gill designs a residence for Walter Luther Dodge. The house incorporates many technological innovations including a garbage disposal, automatic car wash, central vacuum, extensive use of sheet metal and skylights. Gill’s unornamented design, reminiscent of the adobe used in California missions, is one of the first in the U.S. to use reinforced concrete.
Extensive landscaping, designed by Wilber Cook, is considered an important element of the Dodge House. Paul R. Williams works for Cook.
Though torn down in the 60s, a panel of architectural historians selected by the Los Angeles Times (2008) includes the Dodge House in their list of top ten Southern California houses.
Williams is certified as a building contractor in 1915 and can build small projects. The California State Board of Architectural Examiners is the agency that maintains these records today, but the agency existed under a different name and mission in 1915. (Wesley Howard Henderson’s unpublished research)
William studies architectural engineering at the University of Southern California from 1916 through 1919. This photograph shows the campus at the time Williams attends classes at USC.
1915
Panama-California Exposition, San Diego
To celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, San Diego stages an international exposition from 1915-1916. As the first American port-of-call north of the Canal and with a population of only 90,000, San Diego is the smallest city to host an event of this scale. With the ambitious theme of “human progress” the exposition showcases both the beauty of the city and the resources of the American West.
Architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, in association with Carleton Winslow Sr., is chosen as the chief designer. He is fascinated by the festive Spanish Revival and Mission-style architecture of California and selects it as the unifying design for the exposition buildings. His use of Spanish inspired churrigueresque detail on the buildings creates a sensation and inspires a regional and national popularity for Spanish and Mission Revival buildings—a craze that endures throughout the 1920s.
These images are not from the original exposition but record a remodel (1933-1935) of Winslow’s original designs by architect Richard S. Requa.
(Thanks to Will Chandler, project historian and art director, for his insights into the 1990 to 1996 reconstruction of the Exposition’s buildings.)
Hollyhock House, Hollywood
Oil heiress Aline Barnsdall commissions Frank Lloyd Wright (L) to design a home and cultural center on an 11-acre olive grove she owns in Hollywood. Wright’s plans are complete in 1918 and include pools, educational buildings, shops, a theater, studios and residences for artists, and a sumptous villa for Barnsdall. Only Hollyhock House (Barnsdall’s residence) and two studio-residences are built.
Hollyhock House is the first residence Wright designs in the Los Angeles area. He considers the house one of his major achievements—his California Romanza reflecting his pure love of architecture. Wright’s use of the Mayan temple proto-type illustrates the influence of a popular Pre-Columbian art installation at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The building’s mesa silhouette recalls the architecture of the Pueblo Indians. The stylized motif of the hollyhock throughout the home represents Barnsdall’s favorite flower. Wright describes this project in his autobiography, “Individuality is the most precious thing in life… the true property of character. Hollyhock House is such a house.”
In 1926 the City of Los Angeles accepts the residence and surrounding acres as a center for recreation and culture. Paul R. Williams (R) is seen in this 1965 photograph with a model for a Junior Arts Center to be built in the park.
1916
1917
1918
1919
Men of the Month: A Young Architect
The Crisis, June 1917
“Wide-spread recognition of the ability of Mr. Williams as an architect has come early in his career … He was awarded first honorable mention in architecture at the Chicago Emancipation Celebration in 1915 … Mr. Williams is employed by one of the large architectural firms in Los Angeles. The designing of many of the fine home in Southern California can be attributed to his skill.”
Designs Commercial Building
In the March 30 issue of Los Angeles Builder and Contractor (later known as Southwest Builder and Contractor), Williams is listed as the designer for a two-story commercial building on South Los Angeles Street. Louis M. Blodgett, a successful African American millionaire, is the builder. Paul Williams later builds both of Blodgett’s homes in 1922 and 1953.
Old Folks’ Home
Southwest Builder and Contractor, September 23, 1916
“Oliver O. Boyd has signed a contract at $4270 for erecting a 2-story frame building…for the Western Baptist Assn. of Southern California. The building is designed for occupancy as an old folks’ home and will contain sleeping rooms, dining room, kitchen, chapel, etc…Plans by Paul R. Williams, 1530 E. Twenty-first St.”
This is one of the earliest mention of Paul R. Williams in Southwest Builder and Contractor. AIA Southern California Chapter selects this publication as its magazine of record in 1921.
Along the Color Line
The Crisis, March 1916
“The People’s Auditorium is to be erected in Los Angeles, Cal., at a cost of $35,000, by Negro citizens. Mr. Paul Williams, a young Negro architect, planned the structure.”
1920
At 25 years of age Williams lives at 784 E. 15th in Los Angeles with wife Della and Emily P. Clarkson who is listed as his god mother in the 1920 U.S. census. Williams describes his occupation as “draftsman at an archtect’s office.” He soon moves to 1271 West 35th Street—a modest home in the black community of South Central Los Angeles where he lives for 30 years.
In 1920 he is appointed to the LA City Planning Commission by the 23rd Mayor of Los Angeles (Meredith P. Snyder) and serves on the commission until 1928. The city is changing dramatically with the railroads connecting Los Angeles to the rest of the nation. Land is cheap and abundant. Unlike cities in the East that accomodate growth with taller buildings, Los Angeles can spread out. The LA leaders want to plan for the city’s future growth with a planning commission.
Carl Van Vechten records the faces of American art
Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) is known today as “an artist of varied accomplishment.” (Wall Street Journal, March 3-4, 2012) — music and modern dance critic for the New York Times, author of a controversial social novel and photographic portraitist. During his career as a photographer, Van Vechten captures the face of “every black author, performer and socialite of note.” Fascinated by the Harlem Renaissance (African American cultural movement of the 1920s and 1930s), he promotes their work with his unique portraits.
Typically posing his subject in front of a distinctive exotic-print background, Carl Van Vechten produces thousands of images. His work is a who’s who of important 20th century African Americans. To be photographed by Van Vechten is to have arrived. His iconic images are used in popular books and textbooks.
Paul Revere Williams is photographed by Carl Van Vechten in the 1930s.
Art Deco District, Miami Beach
The Art Deco District in Miami Beach, Florida is the largest concentration of 1920s and 1930s resort architecture in the United States. Developers design, build and promote the area as the “tropical playground” for the nascent middleclass vacationer able to freely travel the country by automobile and train. The area, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, 6th Street, Alton Road, Dade Boulevard and 23rd Street, is a mix of Mediterranean Revival, Art Deco, and International/Moderne-styles. The vibrantly colored and often architecturally fantastical buildings are divided into three use types: seasonal hotels, retail, and 80 square blocks of residential property. The district is recognized in 1979 as an important site of 20th century architecture, primarily Art Deco, by the National Register of Historic Places.
Pershing County Nevada Courthouse
Pershing County, Nevada is created in 1919 from neighboring Humboldt County. The new county commissioners select the state’s leading civic architect, Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps, to design their courthouse as proof of their new independence and importance.
The Pershing County Courthouse is one of seven courthouses DeLongchamp designs in Nevada. This neoclassical-style structure satisfies the county commissioners vision of civic pride. The 16,000 square foot, single-story, circle-hexigon shaped building takes its inspiration from both the Roman Pantheon and the University of Virginia Library. The interior contains an unusual layout of a central circular courtroom surrounded by offices.
The Pershing County Courthouse is unique among America’s historic county courthouses because of the circle-hexigon shape.
Decade at a Glance
The population of America is 106,521,537 with an increased average life expectancy of 54 years.
The Volstead Act becomes law in 1919 making the sale of an intoxicating “beverage” with more than 0.5% of alcohol illegal. The inability of government to enforce the Constitutional amendment creating Prohibition encourages open violation of the national law by large segments of the population.
Women vote for the first time in a national election.
The national unemployment rate is 5.2% with a worker’s pay averaging $1236 per year. Teachers’ salaries are approximately $970 nationally. The illiteracy rate is low—6% of the total population.
The improved standard of living means Americans can buy more—often on credit or by installment payments.
Traveling across country is faster on 387,000 miles of paved roads. It takes 13 days to reach California from New York by automobile. Travel by airplane begins. Travelers can take regularly scheduled coast-to-coast flights.
The New York Stock Exchange crashes in October 1929.
Central Avenue, Los Angeles
During the late 1800s and early 20th century, African Americans begin migrating to Los Angeles. In 1880 only 102 African Americans live in the city, but by 1900 (U.S. Census) the city ranks fourteenth in its African American population. These early settlers congregate along Central Avenue and the area becomes a flourishing religious, social and economic hub for the community. Many of Paul R. Williams’ earliest projects are located in this area of Los Angeles.
The leading African American businesses including mortuaries, ice cream shops, cafes, and newspapers all locate on or near Central Avenue. In 1928 the famous Dunbar Hotel, originally called the Hotel Sommerville, opens at 4225 S. Central. Over 5,000 people attend the grand opening. As the only hotel in Los Angeles catering to African Americans, it is a fashionable place to stay. This hotel is the site of the first NAACP national convention held in the west.
For many years Central Avenue remains an integral part of African American life in Los Angeles. It is said “you could stand on the corner of Vernon and Central and see everybody you knew… if you stood there long enough.” (Los Angeles Sentinal, April 14, 1983)
1921
1922
Early commissions for wealthy clients
Flintridge, named for and developed by Senator Frank Putnam Flint, is a wealthy, segregated suburb near Pasadena. Williams designs scores of homes in this upscale community including this house for Katherine Flint, the Senator’s widow. (It is a smaller version of the couple’s original residence.) In later interviews Williams remembers his professional relationship with the Senator,”I got my start doing better homes … from him.” (Los Angeles Times. Octoiber 11, 1970) Eventually he designs at least 10 spec homes in the Flintridge area and “the development has one of the greatest concentrations of Paul Williams’ houses” in the region. (Personal communications, Tim Gregory, noted regional architectural historian, 2013)
The Louis Cass residence in Flintridge is typically described as Williams’ first significant residential project for a wealthy white client. His biographies link the two men as high school classmates, but current research does not support this. Williams attended Polytechic High School and graduated in 1912. Cass was an athletic star at Los Angeles High School according to local newspaper accounts. After two years at Stanford University, he was named captain of the football team. (Los Angeles Times, November 27, 1911 and August 8, 1913) Cass becomes a successful insurance executive and is one of the founders of the Automobile Club of Southern California. In 1954 Williams designs a ranch house for Cass and his wife Virginia in Temecula, California.
Despite warnings that the African American community is not large or wealthy enough to support an architect, Williams finds work in this growing segment of society. After acquiring his architectural license, he begins to make important connections including African American businessman Louis M. Blodgett. Blodgett, a Los Angeles entreprenuer with interests in construction, real estate, insurance and the funeral industry, hires the young architect to design a home in 1922 (and later in 1953). In 1924 Williams designs the Second Baptist Church—one of the first major construction projects in the Central Ave area of Los Angeles.
Hollywood Masonic Temple, Los Angeles
English-born Austin moves to Los Angeles in 1894 and becomes one of the city’s architectural and civic leaders. He hires many “embryo architects” encouraging them to perfect their professional skills. Paul Revere Williams works in Austin’s firm from 1921-1924 advancing to the position of Head Draftsman. Historians believe Williams participates in some aspect of the design for the Hollywood Masonic Temple.
Wins Special Mention in Small House Competition
In 1923 the Community Arts Association of Santa Barbara sponsors one of the earliest small house competitions in the United States. The cost to build the house could not exceed $5000. Williams receives a “Special Mention” for his meritorius design. The judges note his creative placement of a fireplace on the outside terrace. Eight years later Williams’ entry is published in a catalog available nationwide of small house plans.
Williams joins AIA and opens an office
In 1923 Williams is notified by the Executive Secretary of American Institute of Architects (AIA), the national organization, of his election to membership. The Southern California Chapter of AIA elects Williams as an Associate member on September 30, 1922—a prerequisite for National AIA membership. He is the first known African American member in AIA.
In the 1962 AIA Directory, Williams writes that he opens Paul R. Williams & Associates in the Stock Exchange Building in downtown Los Angeles. He continues working for John C. Austin until he establishes his own client base.
American Radiator Building, NY
Raymond Hood designs the 23-story black and gold brick-clad, steel frame, free-standing office building for the American Radiator Company. The architect combines dramatically colored masonary and Gothic-style pinnacles to symbolize the black iron and glowing embers of furnaces manufactured by the company. Originally described as Neo-Gothic-syle, modern architectural historians now classify the building as a precursor of Art Deco.
Hood trains at both MIT and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. His first professional success is winning the 1922 competition to design the Chicago Tribune Tower with John Mead Howells.
Chicago Tribune Tower
In 1922 the Chicago Tribune Company sponsors an international competition to design their new headquarters. The Tribune describes the contest as “the most famous architecture competition of the 20th century.” The $100,000 in prize money attracts 263 entries from 23 countries. Most entries rely on the architecture of the past or Bauhaus modernism for inspiration. New York architects Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells win the prize for their 36-story, Gothic-style skyscraper. Begun in 1923 the limestone-covered, steel frame building is topped by an ornamental crown. Elaborate gothic carvings are featured on the top and bottom and the building’s base is embedded with fragments from over 120 historic structures including the Great Wall of China.
The Tribune Building quickly becomes a Chicago landmark and no other American newspaper is so closely linked to the building that houses it.
In January 1921 the Southern Chapter of AIA names the periodical Southwest Builder & Contractor as the official publication for public announcements. The June 1921 issue of Southwest Builder & Contractor lists Paul R. Williams’s official certification to practice architecture in California. Williams later becomes a registered architect in the District of Columbia, New York and Tennessee. (AIA Directory 1960)
Also in 1921, Williams begins work in John C. Austin’s architectural firm where he works until 1924. Austin’s firm is known for large public and commercial projects. The Shrine Civic Auditorium (pictured here) and Hollywood Masonic Temple (1922 Timeline Architecture) are projects in Austin’s firm during the years of Williams’ employment. Williams describes his position in Austin’s office as draftsman.
Official Announcements
Southwest Builder and Contractor, June 10, 1921
Licenses Granted New Architects
“The State Board of Architecture has granted certificates to practice architecture to the following persons: … Paul R. Williams, care of John C. Austin …”
Southwest Builder and Contractor, August 19, 1921
“Archt. Paul Williams has been appointed a member of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission.”
Allied Architects Association is formed
Southwest Builder and Contractor (July 8) announces the formation of Allied Architects Association by Southern California’s leading architects. The purpose of this co-operative society is “to provide municipal, county, state and national governments with the highest and best expression of the art of architecture in designing, planning and construction of public buildings…” Paul R. Williams would become an active member of this cooperative participating in many of their large public projects including Roosevelt Naval Base, 1940-1943 and Los Angeles County Courthouse, mid 1950s.
Schlinder House on North Kings Road, Los Angeles
In 1883 the New York and Brooklyn Bridge opens connecting Manhattan with Brooklyn. Engineered by John A. Roebling’s Sons Co. This structure crossing the East River is one of the first steel cable suspension bridges completed in the U.S. Still in use today the bridge is one of the oldest surviving examples of a suspension bridge.
1923
1924
Monrovia, California Administrative Group
Williams’ and Milton W. Nigg’s proposal for group of adminstrative buildings is selected by the Monrovia Trustees from a number of competing proposals. Their winning rendering illustrates a complex of mission-style buildings with red tile roofs and stucco walls set in a park of mature oak trees covering a half block. (This particular architectural style is a popular choice for public buildings and private residences in Southern California throughout the 1920s.) The Monrovia Adminstrative Group is one of Williams’ earliest successes for a large scale public complex.
The initial phase of the Administrative Group (Fire Department and Hall of Justice/Police Department/Jail buildings) is completed in February, 1925. The swimming pool, bathhouse, tennis courts and athletic fields open later in the same year.
Second Baptist Church, Los Angeles
The Second Baptist Church, the first African American Baptist church in Los Angeles, opens their new facility in LA’s Central Avenue area. The building is designed by Williams and Norman F. Marsh, the official architect of the Southern Baptist Convention. The church pastor insists that all workmen constructing the church are from African American-owned businesses.
Building Program of the Second Baptist Church
California Eagle, February 29, 1924
A newspaper article about the growth of the church proudly describes Williams as “the only Negro in the United States to become a member of the National Association of Architects.”
The California Eagle, founded in 1879, is the first African American newspaper published west of the Mississippi River. The first issues of the paper encouraged African Americans in Texas to move to California.
This is a photograph of Charlotta Bass, editor and owner of the Eagle from 1912 to 1951, standing with classical actor, movie star and singer Paul Robeson in 1949.
Los Angeles Public Library
The Central Library building of the Los Angeles Public Library System is the last work of New York architect Bertram G. Goodhue. Begun in 1924, Goodhue dies before completion but Carleton M. Winslow, Jr. continues the project for the firm. With a unifying theme “The Light of Learning” the building includes a mix of architectural influences popular in the 1920s: Beaux-Arts, Art Deco and California Mission-styles.
The three-story building with unadorned, reinforced concrete and plaster interior walls is in a park-like setting—an oasis in the midst of a busy city. Goodhue’s integration of the Arts as a design element is an early example of incorporating art in a public project. The skyscraper-like tower is topped with a colored tile pyramid heralding both the modern age and California’s past. Limestone figures on the exterior represent important authors and intellectual disciplines.
Proposed for demolition in the mid-1970s, the Central Library is saved by the newly formed Los Angeles Conservancy.
Designs for a Small Brick House Published
In 1925 the American Face Brick Association publishes the sixth edition of their The Home of Beauty: Designs for a Small Brick House. The book is a collection of “well rendered” and “meritorious” small house designs the professional group hopes will inspire and educate consumers and contractors to improve the quality of new American single-family homes. They also hope the competition and their publication will encourage a growing middle-class consumer to consider brick when building a residence.
A panel of well-known architects selects the best design ideas from a field of 400 entries submitted for a competition by architects and architectural draftsmen from across the country. (The competition is coordinated by the professional journal Architectural Forum, formerly The Brickbuilder and the Committee on Competitions of the American Institue of Architects.) Though Williams’ entry for a “simple cottage” is not selected as one of the finalists, his rendering for House, No 150 is deemed worthy of inclusion in the 1925 publication.The editor’s description of the Williams’ design recommends clients and builders chose a northeast facing site “thereby providing morning sun in the dining room and a pleasant exposure for the living room and garden.”
A note in the book’s introduction states that working drawings/specifications and a list of materials are available to anyone for a $25 fee with proof that a “competent builder or contractor” had been secured.
Designs a Public School
It is announced in the Los Angeles Times that Williams is preparing plans for a 2-story brick grammer school. This school at 1314 South Dacotah Street opens in 1926.
Proposed Y.M.C.A. Structure
Los Angeles Times, August 9, 1925
“This is to be the fourth plant owned by the Young Men’s Christian Association of this city and will be built at the southeastern corner of Twenty-eight and Paloma Streets, at a cost of $175,000. It was designed by Paul R. Williams.”
The 28th Street YMCA is currently under renovation. This photograph was taken in 2010 before renovation begins.
Baird/Stewart/Garza ResidenceBaird/Stewart/Garza Residence
The Baird/Stewart/Garza residence, Spanish Colonial Revival style, is complete in 1926. Williams designs or specifies every detail of the house and terraced garden including the woodwork, hardware, fixtures and hardscape.
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1926
1927
1928
1929
Frame Residence Southwest Builder and Contractor, February 19, 1926
“Glen O. Winget, Los Angeles, will build 2-sto. and part basement frame and stucco 8-rm. res., near Brockman Estate, Glendale, for Chas. R. Baird; Paul R. Williams, 1400 Stock Exchange Bldg., Los Angeles, archt: hand-made tile rfg., part basement, gas unit htg. sys., aut. water htr., hdwd. flrs., 2 tiled baths, hdwd. and pine trim, mantel.”
Lodge Will Spend $130,000 for Composite Ediface Los Angeles Times, March 12, 1926
“Plans are being prepared for a 3-story store, office and lodge building … for the Golden West Lodge No. 86 … on Central Avenue, near 36th Street, it was announced by Architect Paul Williams.
The structure will be of reinforced concrete, finished on the exterior in pressed brick and art stone …”
Lovell Beach House, Newport Beach
Two of the most famous California houses built in the 1920s are commissioned by Philip and Leah Lovell. Their town house is designed by Richard Neutra and their beach house by Rudolph Schindler. The couple’s naturopathic philosophy of the power of nature and health is promoted in Philip Lovell’s “Care of the Body” column published in the Los Angeles Times. Free thinkers, the Lovells are interested in new ways of living and new ways of building. They embrace Schindler’s architectural philosophy of “space architecture” or “spatial relationships.”
The Lovell Beach House is completed in 1926 and architectural historians consider it Schindler’s greatest work. The suspended house of unsurfaced, poured-in-place concrete and iron rods is elevated above the beach on columns. Schindler describes the open plan residence as a health house—the perfect setting for the Lovells’ way of life based on sport, health and nature. Both the Lovells and Schindler believe that social problems can be solved with architectural design.
Daniel Cowan Jackling House, Woodside, CA
Self-made millionaire and copper baron, Daniel Jackling hires George Washington Smith to design a show-place home in Woodside, California. Smith is the foremost proponent of the Spanish Colonial Revival-style of architecture and creates Santa Barbara’s unique architectural look.
In the 1920s Woodside is one of the wealthiest small towns in America and the client directs the architect to design an appropriate mansion to represent his new social and economic position in California society. The 17,250 square-foot, 30-room residence is the perfect setting for Jackling’s extensive art collection.
The Jackling House is currently owned by the late Steve Jobs, CEO Apple Computers. Jobs calls the house “one of the biggest abominations of a house I’ve ever seen” an opinion not shared by preservationists fighting to preserve it.
Continues to receive commissions for Flintridge estates
John Bishop Green hires Williams to design a large weekend home including the latest “modern” conveniences—electric refrigeration and automatic water heaters.
Los Angeles Times (June 5, 1927) describes this new residence in Flintridge as a project by “Paul Williams, one of Southern California’s best-known architects.”
The Mississippi River Flood of 1927
In 1927 the Mississippi River floods the central United States and displaces nearly a million people. The river inundates small towns and farmland. African Americans leave the stricken rural areas in great numbers to settle in new areas of opportunity such as Chicago and the west. The African American population in Chicago increases from 44,000 in 1910 to 233,000 in 1930.
This natural disaster transforms American society and politics and contributes to the exodus of African Americans from the Mississippi River Delta. (John Barry, Rising Tide, 1997)
Ensenada Has New Hotel
Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1927
“A new $300,000 hotel of Spanish design is being constructed on Todos Santes Bay at Ensenada, Lower California. An organization of prominent businessmen and sportsmen has been completed to take over the contract… Plans for the hotel have been made by Paul Williams.”
Hollywood YMCA
Williams’ firm is hired in 1927 to expand and improve the Hollywood YMCA. Williams’ building opens in 1928. Similar to the 28th Street YMCA, this building is considered Spanish Colonial Revival with ceramic and terra-cotta interior decorative details. Unlike the 28th Street Y, there is only one main entrance. Williams’ reconsiders the users circulation within the building allowing the managers more flexibility and encouraging members to participate in different activities.
New Structure Scheduled for Santa Monica
Los Angeles Times, April 29, 1928
“Bids are being taken by Architect Paul R. Williams for the construction for L. H. Turnbull of a Class A. two-story and part basement store and office building on Wilshire Boulevard between Third and Fourth streets, Santa Monica. It is announced.”
Chrysler Building, New York
Walter P. Chrysler, wealthy automobile magnate, hires architect William Van Alen to design an office building in New York City tall enough to symbolize the height of his financial success. Van Alen, known for his flamboyant designs, meets the challenge with plans for a 77-story, Art Deco-style building. The building is the first in the world to exceed 1000 feet. To insure the claim to the title of tallest structure, the architect secretly assembles a 27-ton steel tip to be hoisted and unveiled at the last minute. Chrysler and Van Alen’s victory is short lived when the taller Empire State Building is completed in 1931.
First Electric Refrigerator
One of the first electric refrigerators rolls off the assembly line on October 15, 1928.
In 1945 Paul R. Williams wrote in Small Homes of Tomorrow that refrigerators of the future will have many new innovations including an “automatic ice cube ejector.”
Williams continues to design homes for wealthy during Great Depression
Katherine Peachy hires Williams to design her house in Hancock Park—a development for wealthy Angelenos. Some of Williams’ original design details could not be executed until 1933. Many building projects are down-sized because of the Great Depression.
Atkin Residence
Jack P. Atkin moves into his luxurious 12,000 square-foot home, designed by Williams, in 1929 on the eve of the Great Depression. Atkin asks the architect to design a castle on a hill that would bring back “memories of his childhood in England.” The 16-room Tudor Revival-style residence in Pasadena is built of brick with a slate roof. Williams utilizes expensive materials including oak, marble, custom designed stained and leaded glass, and “In-Vis-O” Roller Screens for windows—all at Atkin’s request.
Atkin rents the property to movie studios and the house is the setting for the movies Topper (1937) and The Bells of St. Mary’s (1937). The famous residence is destroyed in a 2005 fire. Photograph courtesy of J. Troutoux.
Honor Goes to Colored Architect
Los Angeles Times, December 1, 1929
Paul R. Williams Named to Board That Will Erect Negro Memorial
“Paul R. Williams, local negro architect, has been appointed by President Hoover to membership in the National Colored Memorial Commission which is to erect a memorial building as a tribute to the services rendered by the colored men during the World War … It was through the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce that Williams’s name was brought to the attention of the President.”
Exhibitions Opened At Art Center
Content
Los Angeles Times, December 2, 1929
“Two special exhibitions were opened at the galleries of the California Art Club in its Barnsdall Park Art Club yesterday, one of them being a collection of seventy canvases of the leading Negro artists of the United States … This exhibition, which will be on view for the next two weeks, was secured for this city by Dr. Elzora Gibson. Three local artists are represented in it, Constance Phillips, Paul R. Williams and A.F. Taynes, the latter two of whom are also architects.”
US Stock Market Crashes: the Great Depression Begins
On October 29, 1929 the Stock Market crashes and signals the beginning of the Great Depression. Depositors, fearful that the banks would not honor their accounts, rush to withdraw their money. In this photograph a crowd gathers in the rain outside the Bank of United States. Consumers begin to curb all spending and large building projects are put on hold.
The Great Depression lasts through the next decade. At the height of this economic down-turn almost half of the African American population of Los Angeles is unemployed. (Encyclopedia of African American History: 1896 to the Present)
Santa Barbara County Courthouse
When the William Mooser Company is selected in 1926 to design a new county courthouse for Santa Barbara, it is the state’s oldest architectural firm. Three generations of Moosers design many important public and private buldings in the San Francisco area. The youngest Mooser, William III, a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and a 17-year resident of France and Spain, creates a new courthouse to replace the one destroyed in the June 29, 1925 earthquake. Architectural historians describe his design as “the greatest Spanish Colonial Revival structure ever built.”
The L-shaped, stucco, terra cotta, sandstone building with wrought iron ornamentation opens in 1929. The courthouse inspires others in the Santa Barbara community to celebrate their Spanish roots and appreciate vernacular materials and craftsmen. (Vernacular architecture uses materials and ideas common to a geographic or cultural area.) The Spanish castle design, complete with a clock tower and extensive landscaping, remains the seat of government for modern Santa Barbara County.
Dymaxion House
In 1929 Buckminster Fuller unveils a 3-ton prototype of his circular Dymaxion Dwelling Machine in Marshall Field’s interior decorating department in Chicago. Fuller promotes the prefabricated structure of lightweight steel, duraluminium and plastic as a temporary, transportable living space and a product well-suited for mass-production techniques. The Dymaxion (Dynamicmaximumion) is Fuller’s interpretation of Le Corbusier’s architectural philosophy—a dwelling is a “machine for living in.” The Dymaxion is a legendary futuristic design of the 20th century.
Richard Buckminster Fuller—philosopher, designer, architect, artist, engineer, teacher and inventor—is driven by his philosophy of creating “more for less.” Though architects and the public are engaged by the Dymaxion House, only one full-scale residence is built in Wichita, Kansas. In the 1960s Fuller is embraced by American counterculture and environmentalists as the inventor of the multifunctional geodesic dome.
Home Designs in LA duplicated elsewhere
In an article in the Los Angeles Times (July 24, 1927) Williams describes instances where visitors to the city see his home designs and want to build a duplicate home. “The Spanish homes built here are usually a wonderful improvement on their prototypes in Europe, a thing that is generally admitted by visitors here from Spain.”
Williams is known throughout his professional career as one of the best California practioners of revival-styling. His residential architecture in the Spanish Colonial style, as reflected in the Baird/Stewardt/Garza house, is highly prized by up-scale modern home-buyers in Los Angeles.
28th Street YMCA is completed
Williams’ design for the 28th Street YMCA in the Central Avenue area of Los Angeles includes Spanish Colonial red clay roof tiles, a row of arched windows on the second-floor and smooth stucco finish. Bas-relief panels with busts of African American heroes including Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass provide decorative detail in terra cotta with vines and scrolls.
Paul R. Williams writes about important developments in electric lighting in his 1945 book The Small Home of Tomorrow. “New methods of indirect lighting built into the design of the room with tiny concealed adjustable spot lights for reading areas will be one of the post war developments.”
1930
Decade at a Glance
There are 48 states in the union with a total population of 123,188,000. Life expectancy improves with white men living an average of 58 years and white women 61 years.
During the Great Depression unemployment reaches 25% with some homeless living in shanty towns known as Hoovervilles. Many people move to California from Texas, Oklahoma and the South to escape dust, drought and poverty.
The employed are paid an average of $1,368 per year. Milk costs 14¢ a quart and round steak 42¢ a pound. Zippers take the place of buttons and hooks in women’s clothing.
During the decade 2,787,400 cars are sold to Americans. In New York City the design of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings are inspired by the visualization of speed.
Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Jesse Owens, an African American athlete, wins four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.
Congress designates the Star Spangled Banner as the national anthem.
Williams designs for Hollywood elite
Hollywood is “depression proof.” During the Great Depression, the public goes to the movies to forget their problems and enjoy the luxury of air conditioning. The famous Hollywood sign is erected in 1924 to promote a neighborhood development Hollywood Land. The sign becomes a symbol for glamorous Hollywood.
The Depression slows work for many architects, but Williams’ office remains busy. By 1934 Williams completes over 36 residential estates. Many of his clients are important in the movie industry — directors, movie stars, producers, set designers, even make-up artists — including Otto Preminger, Corrine Griffith, Burt Wheeler, Lon Chaney, Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, Charles Correll and Jacob Paley.
In addition to his work on residential estates, Williams designs many of his most memorable commercial projects in this decade: Angelus Funeral Home, Music Corporation of America (MCA) headquarters, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sunset Plaza Apartments. He also begins a life-long relationship with Howard University.
Hollow Glass Building Blocks
In the 1930s hollow glass blocks are frequently used as a building material in the Art Moderne-style of architecture. A style popular with Americans from all socio-economic levels, Art Moderne reflects the country’s mid-twentieth century excitement with speed and technology. An inexpensive structural element, glass blocks allow light to be a design component without adding extra ornamentation.
This photograph from the Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C. shows the glass blocks being tested to certify them safe as a building material.
Paul R. Williams uses glass blocks as a light source and decorative element in his 1939 Loomis Manor Apartments in Reno, NV. Architect Walter Gropius uses a glass block wall to line the entry way of his 1938 house in Lincoln, MA.
Thoughts on the Role of Interior Decorators
In an interview in 1970 with the Los Angeles Times’ Maggy Savoy, Williams discusses his philosophy of design: “…know when to quit … People don’t always know what they want. It is the architect’s job to help them find it, and keep within the bounds of grace.”
When starting a project, Williams prefers to employ the ideas of an interior designer early in the process. In his career Williams works with many important designers and design companies: Harriet Shellenberger (image), Bullocks of Los Angeles, Frank Baden of Webber Spaulding, Dorothy Draper, Edward F. White, Paul Laszlo & John Luccareni.
Sorority’s Westwood Home Built
Los Angeles Times, April 27, 1930
Chapter House Reflects California and Colonial Influences
“Alpha Delta Pi Sorority house on Hilgard avenue, Westwood Hills, is declared to be one of the best examples of California-Colonial on sorority row at U.C.L.A. … Frank Baden of Webber and Spaulding, the interior decorator, carried out the Monterey atmosphere in Spanish hand-carved benches and tables, parchment shades, damask-covered chairs, colonial fixtures and etchings.”
Empire State Building, New York
In the 1920s automobile magnates Walter Chrysler and John J. Raskob (General Motors) race to see who can build the taller building. Chrysler hires architect Walter Van Alen to design his project (the Chrysler Building). Raskob, investors and former N.Y. Governor Al Smith team-up to build the Empire State Building. Their building, by architect William Lamb, is 1,454-feet (1/5th of a mile and 103 floors) and surpasses the recently completed 1,046-foot Chryser Building.
Small House Plan Service publishes winning design
In 1923 Paul R. Williams wins honorable mention for his design of a small house entered in a competition sponsored by the Community Arts Association of Santa Barbara. The Community Arts Association is a pioneer in the movement to develop “better standards of small house architecture.” Eight years later his winning entry is included in a catalog of designs published by Theodore A. Koetzil, director of the Small House Plan Service. Koetzil selects the Williams’ design for publication in his catalog because “on studying the design today it is found still to hold its position in the first rank…the design is unquestionably good architecture of today.” (Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1931)
Beverly Hills Market Built for Actress
LA Times, February 3, 1931
Corrine Griffith, retired silent movie actress, hires Williams to design a general market building in Beverly Hills—the first commercial building in the area.
Domestic Architecture
Architect and Engineer, October 1931
“in an exhibition of residential architecture, featuring the work of Paul Williams, architect … in the Architects Building Materials Exhibit … outstanding in this collection of photographs, renderings and sketches, are those of the E.L.Cord residence, now under construction in Beverly Hills. This home is said to be an unusually large example of the Southern Colonial style of architecture.”
When the Cord Mansion is completed in 1933, every aspect of the home is covered in contemporary popular and trade magazines: the pool, the game room, bar nook and stables (California Arts and Architecture), the interiors (Architectural Digest) and the general style (Architect and Engineer).
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1933
Williams is active in the community
In 1933 Williams is appointed to the first Los Angeles Housing Commission by Los Angeles Mayor Shaw. He serves on this municipal commission until 1941.
Throughout his life, Williams continues to be active in the community. In 1942 for example he is named to Citizens’ School Committee, a group that “has no other purpose than to bring about the election to the Board of Education the best possible timber.” (Los Angeles Times, April 19, 1942) Later in 1942 Williams, along with 43 leading architects, opens an advice service at Mary Louise Schmidt’s Architects Building-Materials Exhibit to foster a closer relationship between architects, owners and manufacturers. (Los Angeles Times, November 6, 1942)
Busy Building Program Proceeds This Month
Los Angeles Times, December 3, 1933
“In Holmby Hills, the new 20-room residence designed by Paul Williams for Seth Hart, insurance broker, and his son-in-law William Paley, President of the Columbia Broadcast Company, is well along.”
Photo of Seth Hart.
Griffith Observatory
In 1919 Griffith J. Griffith dies and leaves $100,000 in a trust to build a public observatory in Los Angeles. The philanthropist’s interest in astronomy is sparked by visits to Mount Wilson Observatory, the largest in the world. John C. Austin and Frederick M. Ashley are selected by the LA Park Commission and the Trust to design the observatory. Ground is broken in 1933 and the building opens in 1935.
The Austin and Ashley Art Deco-style Griffith Observatory is constructed of thick, earthquake resistent concrete walls. Three iconic domes, covered with 489 copper panels, house a 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope, 75-foot wide theater and a planetarium to educate the public about “celestial events.” The theater is one of the largest in the world and the planetarium, invented in 1923, is only the third built in the U.S.
1934
In 1927 Philadelphia stockbroker William Stix Wasserman commissions George Howe to design a country house at Whitemarsh in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. Howe’s initial design is a typical Georgian mansion. Wasserman appreciates the new International-style of architecture and asks Howe to re-envision his design combining elements of this new style with an aesthetic that allows the building to blend with the “quiet landscape.” Square Shadows is Howe’s attempt to stretch beyond his classical Beaux-Arts training and incorporate elements of this new architectural style with traditional home design and construction.
Square Shadows is one of the earliest successful American responses to the International Style. Today Gloria Dei Lutheran Church occupies the home.
Herbert F. Johnson, Sr., son of the founder of S. C. Johnson & Sons Corporation, hires architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1936 to design the company’s headquarters in Racine. Johnson believes “going to work in a work of art is a great inspiration.” Architectural historians call Wright’s design the “most original system of cantilever-slab construction ever built.”
Because Wright’s plans for the administrative complex are revolutionary, skeptical county commissioners delay granting construction permits. Wright builds a demonstration mushroom column (wire mesh welded into a cone) for a strength test by engineers. His unconventional design is proven safe and permits are granted. The building opens in 1939. Architectural historian Sigfried Giedion describes Wright’s design as “…circular discs which seem to float like leaves of giant water lilies among the tubes of heat-resisting, Pyrex glass…Most of the pillars carry nothing but the air above them.”
Wright designs a second building—the 14-story brick and Pyrex tubed research tower (1947-50). Floors are cantilevered from a hollow central core containing the elevator, stairway and utilities (far R image). This core along with the floor slabs and foundation are cast as a single unit, a first for this type of construction. Wright designs all furnishings for the interior space.
Often cited as some of the most beautiful office buildings ever built, the entire campus is added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Park Service describes the buildings as “outstanding 20th century statements using light and plasticity of form to create a new concept of space.”
Still in use today, S.C. Johnson Co. considers the Wright designed complex a work of art and their “corporate cathedral.”
Federal Housing Admininstration Created
The U.S. Congress creates the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1934 to revive the housing industry. During the Great Depression two million construction workers are unemployed and mortages (loans) for home buyers are difficult to obtain. Only 4 in 10 households own their home.
The role of the newly created FHA is to “insure” loans and protect the lender from losses by defaulting homeowners. FHA programs help returning veterans and their families buy homes in the 1940s. The loans are important to the growth of American suburbs.
Between 1934 and today the FHA will insure over 34 million home mortgages. Many homes in Paul R. Williams’ developments, including SeaView (1960) and Carver Manor (1940), are purchased using Veterans’ Administration and FHA guaranteed loans.
For many years the FHA builds large scale models of conceptual subdivisions. The Modeltowns allow Americans to visualize life in a subdivision and promote the housing industry. These photos show a 1935 FHA Modeltown Exhibit in San Diego that over 1 million visit.
Fallingwater, Bear Run, Pennsylvania
Built in 1934 Lilliane and Edgar Kaufmann’s summer home, Fallingwater, is often called “the most famous modern house in the world” by architectural historians. The Frank Lloyd Wright designed residence is secured to a rock and cantilevered over a waterfall with wings reaching out into the air. Wright describes the relationship of the house to its surroundings as that of a tree house—a made thing that is natural with “no limitations as to form.”
Three-stories high, Fallingwater has few rooms but living spaces are extended with balconies, terraces and canopy-covered slabs that project from the house. Wright designs the walnut veneer furniture and interior lighting to harmonize with the design of the house. Native sandstone, slabs of reinforced concrete and flagstone are used in the interior and exterior.
Fallingwater exemplifies Wright’s philosophy, “Architecture is the triumph of human imagination over materials, methods, and men.” The building revitalizes Wright’s career.
1935
Begins work with Hilyard Robinson
In 1935 Williams becomes an associate member of the firm Hilyard Robinson and Paul R. Williams in Washington, D.C. where he is registered or licensed to practice architecture. He also becomes licensed in New York.
Together Williams and Robinson collaborate on many large projects including Langston Terrace (image) and buildings on the Howard University campus.
Williams is recognized as an expert
His name and opinion are sought and used as endorsements in advertisements.
Los Angeles Times advertisment, August 11, 1934
Open for Inspection Beautiful Reforced Groutlock Masonry Residence
New Orleans Farm House Type, designed by Mr. Paul R. Williams
“Good architecture is an everlasting asset. It pays tremendously to have a house competently designed.” (The ad describes the model house Williams designs for the first House and Garden Show on Wilshire.)
Los Angeles Times advertisement, April 15, 1934
“See the Contest Tempo Rooms. See the seven rooms in our Tempo Revue furnished by these prominent women’s clubs competing for the 3 prizes…”
Judges:
Miss Mildred Bateman, Professor Fine Arts USC
Mr. Paul R. Williams, Prominent Architect
Mr. Arthur Millier, Art Critic, “The Times”
Becomes a Spokesman for New Building Technology
By 1936 modular steel housing is more than an experiment. Williams becomes the consulting architect for Lea Steel Homes of Los Angeles. His plans are featured in the Lea Steel Homes catalog and advertisements. Williams designs and builds a model Lea Steel Home for the 1934 Los Angeles House and Garden Show.
From a 1936 Los Angeles Times advertisement: “If you can buy a home of any kind, you can buy a Lea Steel Home … resistent to damage by fire, termites, dry rot, termites and earthquakes … Paul R. Williams, Consulting Architect.”
Roland Giroux selects the 1934 House and Garden Show model for his El Reno Apartments, Reno, Nevada. (image)
Book Features Homes
xLewis Storrs, Jr. illustrates his book The Key to Your New Home: A Primer of Liveable and Practical Homes with photographs of the built designs by important California architects. Williams’ residences are featured in this book. Storrs believes that “awkward and superficial copies of historical styles of architecture have proved themselves unsatisfactory” in the 20th century. It is more important to build a house expressing the personality of the owner rather than forcing the owner to adapt to a classical formula of mathematical design. With this approach a house is developed from the inside-out.
Travel Guide for African Americans: The Green Book
Mass production makes the automobile affordable for middleclass Americans and improved highways increase the opportunity for pleasure-travel. Printed road maps and guides make travel easier and are distributed free to tourists by auto-related clubs. The Official Automobile Blue Book, endorsed by the American Automobile Association, is published in 1906. This guide with road maps covers the eastern U.S. and includes touring information, rules of the road, legal advise and lists of hotels and resorts. (The Scientific Monthly. May, 1946) The Automobile Green Book (1926) published by the Automobile Legal Association is another popular guide.
The opportunity for pleasure-travel by African Americans increases after World War I. Both the aristocrats of color (professionals, writers, clergymen, politicians, doctors) and an expanding middleclass (civil service workers, teachers, porters) take to the roads with their automobiles. The Jim Crow system of segregation affects their access to public and private travel facilities. A number of popular African American magazines regularly feature articles to help travelers make comfortable choices. Los Angeles is often rated as a “good town for Negroes.” (Negro Digest, October 1947)
To make cross-country travel more enjoyable a national directory of “hotels, campsites, eateries and other services” available to African Americans is published in 1936. The Negro Motorist Green Book promises to “give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments, and to make his trip more enjoyable.” (Journal of Negro History. Spring 1999)
Through the wide distribution of The Green Book, race-specific tourist venues and resorts flourish across America. Lake Elsinore (1920s-1960s) in Southern California is an example of a popular resort listed in The Green Book. Catering to patrons with considerable disposable income the resort insulates these African Americans from “rude treatment and repeated affronts to their dignity” that they might experience at other resorts.
In the 1920s Paul R. Williams is hired by the Board of Directors to design a master plan for the Lake Shore Beach at this resort, but his development proposal is not implemented. The Williams family owns a private home (16908 Grand Avenue) and vacations at the resort. (Alison Rose Jefferson. Lake Elsinore. December 2007)
California House and Garden Exhibition
The California House and Garden Exhibition in Los Angeles is the original idea of Mary Louise Schmidt, director of Architects & Engineers Service. One of the first in the country, the exhibition showcases the latest developments in residential construction and equipment. Six demonstration homes, designed by prominent architects in Southern California, are constructed. Pictured here is Paul Williams’ French House as published in The 1938 Book of Small Houses. Williams’ designs two of the demonstration homes for this exhibition. Both are featured in photographic essays in Architectural Digest.
New Orleans House Based on Williams’ Model French House
From the 1930s through the 1950s, O.E. Hering owns a large car dealership located on Canal Street in New Orleans. With his financial success, Hering and his wife purchase a lot in Old Metaririe on Vincent to build a home reflecting their improved social standing. Metairie is an early up-scale property development outside of New Orleans. After seeing photographs of the Paul Williams’ exhibition French House in Architectural Digest, Mrs Herings urges her husband to send a local architect to Los Angeles to confer with Williams and copy his model home. Mrs. Hering insists her new home is to be a “faithful copy” of the original French House.
After the Herings are divorced, the house is left vacant. Though needing considerable restoration when they purchase the house, the current owners immediately fell under its spell—the dramatic circular staircase, skylights, oval dining room, carved niches and the natural flow of the rooms—all hallmarks of a classic Williams’ house but a style not common in New Orleans.
Interviewed for a recent article profiling their residence, the owners discuss their devotion to their house and the unknown California architect who designed it, ” I didn’t know much about the house until I was clearing out the attic and discovered the original architectural drawings and an issue of Architectural Digest from the 1930s. I didn’t realize the plans and the magazine had anything to do with each other until later, when I flipped through the magazine I realized that one of the houses looked a lot like ours.”
In 2001 the owners embark on an expansion of the house but only after detailed photographs are taken and original materials salvaged for reuse. The renovated and updated house is based on the original plans found in their attic many years before. Now considered an architectural landmark in Metairie, the owner muses on the complicated history of his home, “It all began when Mrs. Hering was inspired by those pictures over 70 years ago.”
Speaker at Hampton Institute
Williams is one of the speakers at the Thirteenth Hampton Builders’ Conference Program. This annual conference is co-hosted by Hampton Institute and the National Builder’s Association, the national organization for African Americans involved in the construction industry and building trades. Williams leads an open discussion on “national building problems.” (The New York Age, February 13, 1937)
I Am a Negro
This essay by Williams is published in the July 1937 issue of The American Magazine. The essay is described by the editor as “the frankest, most human discussion of the color problem we have ever read.” This autobiographical essay is edited and reprinted almost 50 years later after Williams dies in Ebony (November 1986).
Going Forward with Southern California
Los Angeles Times, June 27, 1937
Business and Civic Leaders of Los Angeles and Southern California. Among these are many who have assisted in making Los Angeles and Southern California the most progressive section in the world.
Paul Williams’ picture is included in photographic gallery with the caption “Architect who has designed over 400 homes in the vicinity of Southern California.”
Others in the gallery include: Alex B. Perino (Perino’s Restaurant), George Pepperdine (educator, philanthropist), A. M. Beaver (realtor), A. W. Ross (developer Wilshire Boulevard), Brigadier Joseph Sturm (head LA branch Salvation Army).
1936
1937
Distinguished Negroes and Their Work: Paul Williams, Architect
Across America Williams’ essay I Am A Negro generates discussion in both main stream and the African American press. Valdemar Hill’s editorial in the Virgin Islands Daily News on December 1937 is an example of this debate. Hill defends Williams as a “sane, practical Negro who has no illusions regarding the present racial situation … Although he can easily pass for white, Paul Williams has chosen to to be distinctively Negro. He fully understands that as Paul Williams, the individual, he can go anywhere, do anything without reproach; his limitations are due to the fact that he is a Negro.”
The debate about the real meaning of Williams’ essay for modern American society continues. His ideas are embraced by both conservative and liberal pundits.
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge construction begins January 5, 1933 and opens in May 1937. Spanning the Golden Gate Strait (or Chrysopylae), it connects San Francisco with Marin county. This structure is known as one of the world’s most beautiful examples of a suspension bridge. Bethlehem Steel Co. provides the fabricated steel that is transported to California via the Panama Canal. The steel cabling is provided by John Roebling’s Sons Company. From the time of construction until 1964, the 4,200-foot bridge has the longest span of any bridge in the world.
Consulting Architect Irving Morrow selects the bridge’s distinctive International Orange color. Morrow believes this warm color blends harmoniously with the setting and sets the bridge apart from the cool color of the water and sky. The bridge is an important California landmark, appearing as a backdrop in more than 20 major motion pictures including the Star Trek film series, Alfred Hitchcock films and The Maltese Falcon.
Music Corporation of America
Architectural Problems Told
Los Angeles Times, March 24, 1938
Paul R. Williams gives views on style and design
“Ornament is what dates a building … In designing all kinds of buildings, I have found it better to rely on good proportions in design to attract attention. The factors that do not tire the eye are those which do not easily become antiquated.“
He continues “… today, discriminating home owners demand an abode that reflects their own personality, satisfies their own particular needs, as well as meeting the ordinary requirements of a well-built home.“
This article describes a similar philosophy for commercial buildings. “… Williams studies the type of business to be served and adapts the entire structure to meet its requirements … the recently completed California offices of the Music Corporation of America … in a similar manner combine decorative and functional features in its design.”
Music Corporation of America (MCA), 1939. Photographer: Maynard L. Parker, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Trinity Church Faces Busy Week
The Spartanburg Herald, Spartanburg, South Carolina, March 14, 1938
Members to Begin Building Program Here Wednesday
“Contract for construction of the building was let several days ago to the Fiske Carter Construction company, and the preliminary work of clearing off the site of building was begun last week. Paul Williams is the architect … The new building will be of Gothic design.”
Housing Affairs Deeply Studied
Los Angeles Times, August 21, 1938
California delegation at International Congress in Mexico
“With housing and city planning looming large in the affairs of the day, the studies and analyses at the sixteenth International Housing and Town Planning Congress, which ended its week of sessions at Mexico City yesterday, are expected to have marked international influence.” Paul R. Williams is among the delegates.
Gropius House, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Mrs. James J. Storrer donates 5 acres to German emigre architect Walter Gropius for his family home. Gropius, leader of Germany’s influential Staaliches Bauhaus (1919-1928), flees a hostile German government in 1934 and joins the faculty at Harvard, Graduate School of Design.
The Gropius House is built in 1938. The design is attributed to Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, with input from Gropius’ wife and daughter. The wood, painted brick and fieldstone house is inspired by traditional box-like New England buildings that Gropius finds “unpretentious and geniune in plan and appearance.” He adds sculptural Bauhaus elements—an exterior metal spiral staircase, glass block wall at the entry, chrome details, and vertically-hung clapboard. Gropius sites his home with views of planned and natural landscapes as design elements. Historians now equally value the landscaping and the building as important reflections of “modernist spatial philosophy.”
The architectural design and interior furnishing for the Gropius House are inspired by the Modernist or International-style. In a 1932 Museum of Modern Art (New York) exhibition catalog, the aesthetic principles of the International Style are explained to American audiences by Henry Russell Hitchcock, Jr., and Philip Johnson: “A sense of volume as opposed to solidity, regularity as opposed to symmetry, and detail achieved through intrinsic elegance of materials, technical perfection, and fine proportions as opposed to applied ornament.”
Magazines and newspapers write extensively about the Gropius House while scores of Harvard students participate in the design and construction. The house creates a public appreciation for the International-style in America. While not the first Modernist or International-style home built in this country, the Gropius House is the most influential.
Fiberglas
The Architect’s Notebook in Paul R. Williams’ The Small Home of Tomorrow (1945) describes the importance of using the best insulation materials in a “successful postwar home.” In 1931 Russell Games Slayter, an Owens-Illinois Company employee, realizes the value of the crude glass fibers floating in the air and hanging from rafters in the company factories. Throughout history many incorporated glass with other materials, but Slayter is credited with the title of “Father of Fiberglass.” Owens-Illinios merges with Corning Glass in 1938 to form Owens-Corning Fiberglass and manufacture glass fiber insulation a product that improves residential heating/cooling efficiency. With this insulating material available during the post World War II building boom, homes are built in environments previously considered too cold, hot, dry or humid.
Herculite tempered glass
The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (PPG) opens in 1883 and is the first successful American manufacturer of high-quality, thick glass. PPG continues to improve their glass production process and the glass becomes thinner and more affordable for commercial and residential buildings. In 1907 the company opens its first window-glass factory and by 1928 begins producing sheet glass. PPG’s Herculite, developed in 1938, is a tempered glass four to five times stronger than ordinary plate glass. The large sheets of safer Herculite are a new building material and inspire architects to design glass-clad buildings. Architects can now create buildings with large display windows as an architectural element introducing natural light and providing unobstructed views.
Receives AIA Award of Merit
Williams receives an Award of Merit from the Southern California (Los Angeles) Chapter of AIA (American Institute of Architecture) for the Music Corporation of America building.
Extensive New Store Unit to be Opened Tomorrow
Los Angeles Times, August 20, 1939
“The doors of the newly completed five-story addition to the Saks Fifth Avenue store … Beverly Hills, are scheduled to be opened tomorrow … The charm of the original building continues through the new addition. There is a series of rooms decorated and furnished in keeping with the type of merchandise displayed … The beautiful restaurant on the roof will be supervised by Alexander D. Perino … Architect Paul Williams designed the building” and the interior in collaboration with Tom Douglas.
This photograph of Saks interior is by Maynard L. Parker courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Century of Progress Architectural District—Beverly Shores, Porter, Indiana
The Chicago Century of Progress Exposition opens in 1933 and focuses on science as a catalyst for 20th century America. Ten furnished models of modern home designs use innovative and prefabricated construction, futuristic materials and appliances of tomorrow. Nine of the homes feature flat roofs “for sleeping at night and for sunbaths, loafing or general use by day.” (image 1) Promoted as housing for every-man, the costs range from $3,500 to $25,000—a stretch for home buyers during the Great Depression.
After the Exposition, Robert A. Bartlett purchases 5 of the models and moves them to Beverly Shores in Porter, Indiana for his 3000-acre Lake Michigan subdivision development. Bartlett embraces modern architecture and the Century of Progress models to promote Beverly Shores as the place for the latest construction available. He believes the “model homes represent … the most outstanding examples of modern home building, combining beauty and practical value. We believe they will have a decided influence on home building in metropolitan Chicago.”
Construction innovations include:
- Wieboldt-Rostone House is framed in steel and clad in the experimental material Rostone—a composite of shale, limestone and alkali produced in a variety of colors. (images 1, 2)
- Florida Tropical House, a landmark in Beverly Shores with its bright pink exterior, blends the indoor and outdoor living space—an unusual concept in the Midwest. (image 3)
- Cypress Log Cabin demonstrates the unique building qualities of cypress—a durable, colorful wood resistant to moisture, heat and insects. (image 4)
- Armco-Ferro House is easily mass-produced and affordable (under $3,000). Made of corrugated steel panels bolted together, the structure resembles a cardboard box and can be placed on its bottom, side or top without damage. The steel panels are covered with porcelain-enamel produced by the Ferro Enamel Corporation. (image 5)
- House of Tomorrow, influenced by European Modernism, is made of steel and glass. The curtain wall, a primitive passive solar heating system, reduces the need for mechanically produced heat in winter. The model is cooled by a revolutionary home-sized air-conditioner. (For the Midwest Bartlett replaces the glass walls with operable windows.) The first floor of the model is a garage/airplane hangar. Early 20th century futurists believe every modern American family will own a personal airplane. The second and third floor living spaces are built around a solarium. (image 6)
In 1983 the Beverly Shores/Century of Progress Architectural District is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona
Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most famous architects of the 20th century, begins work on Taliesin West. Wright calls this low-profile residential/working complex on 800-acres his “Arizona Camp.” The architect imagines the desert site as his family winter retreat and workshop for the Taliesin Fellowship student-apprentices. Beginning in 1937 he stays at the site from November to April. He continues to alter and add to the project until his death in 1959.
Inspired by the “character and beauty of that wonderful site” and impatient with the “meaningless convention” of current aesthetics, Wright’s vision is that the buildings should blend with the natural setting. Using indigenous materials—volcanic rock set in wooden forms and bonded with a mixture of cement and desert sand (desert concrete)—his design blurs the distinction between indoor and outdoor space. Architectural historian Paul Heyer describes the complex as a “progressive spatial experience: a series of events in landscape and terracing, with alternation of tight and loose and dark and bright spaces.”
Wright’s design plan is all encompassing and includes the landscape and interior furnishings. Wright paints the exterior Cherokee red because he believes that red is the “one life-giving color in creation.” The rough redwood timbers are decorated with white to mimic the native saguaro cactus. To provide light and a sense of space, canvas is installed on the roof and windows. In 1945 Wright replaces the cloth with more practical glass and plastic.
Noted by historians as one of Wright’s later architectural masterpieces, Taliesin West is added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
1938
1939
1940
Decade at a Glance
The U.S. population increases to 132,122,000 with over 8 million people unemployed. Life expectancy is 68 for women and 60 for men.
The average annual wage is $1,299 and a minimum wage is set at 43¢ per hour. Teachers earn $1,441 per school year.
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that African Americans have the right to vote.
There are 34,500 people killed in auto-related accidents.
More than half of all U.S. homes have indoor plumbing improving public health. The first eye bank opens in New York. Penicillin is developed. This antibiotic improves the survival rate of American soldiers wounded during WW II.
The war effort encourages the development of many new technologies and the employment of women.
The end of the war changes the balance of world power; the U.S. and the USSR emerge as super powers. A new war begins—the Cold War.
Plans for home bomb shelters are popular.
Case Study Houses
John Entenza, the editor/owner of Arts and Architecture, announces in the magazine’s January 1945 issue a program promoting new design and construction ideas for the exploding post World War II housing market. The magazine challenges architects to create real houses for Joes and Janes, not concept houses. Each home “must be capable of duplication and in no sense be an individual performance…It is important that the best material available be used in the best possible way in order to arrive at a good solution of each problem.” The program is christened the Case Study House Program. Over 31 architects accept commissions in association with the program designing residences on sites in greater Los Angeles. The architects submit 34 designs over two decades. Arts and Architecture features photo essays of the homes with images by some of the most famous photographers of the time. The program continues from 1945-1964 and profoundly impacts public taste and expectations across the country.
Named to California Draft Board
The Governor of California names Paul Williams to one of 107 district draft boards. The boards administer the Selective Service Act in the State. Williams’ nomination is approved by President Roosevelt.
Several nominees had to withdraw because they were called into military service or their “business affairs would not permit participation.” (Los Angeles Times, October 10, 1940)
Ralph A. Vaughn, a young designer in Williams’ firm, remembers in an oral history that Williams closed his office shortly after December 7, 1941 or Pearl Harbor. (Wesley Henderson interview with Vaughn, 2/16/92)
Negro Architects of Today in Action
“Reviewing the homes designed by Williams is like reading a page from Hollywood’s Blue Book, namely: Will Hays, Tyrone Power, Sally Eilers, Zasu Pitts, Leon Errol, Grace Moore, Richard Arlen, Charles Correll (Andy of ‘Amos ‘n’ Andy’), Bill Robinson, Joseph Schenck, Jay Paley (of Columbia Broadcasting Co.) and many of the executives and producers in the motion picture industry.”
Homemaking Institute at Dillard University
The New York Age, March 30, 1940
“The Institute, sponsored annually by the University, will be centered this year around ‘The Planning and Decoration of the Home’ and will be conducted by Paul R. Williams, noted architect of Los Angeles, California. The Institute will open on Monday, April 1, with a lecture by Mr. Williams on planning a low cost home.”
The Home Front: Columbia, a Country on the Uptake
Los Angeles Times, April 14, 1941
“I’ve been talking with Paul Williams, the Negro architect, and he told me about Colombia, a country which is on the uptake … Mr. Williams actually has BEEN there … the new thing about Colombia is that it is building a big city hotel, office buildings, clubs, homes … all along the most advanced style … A commission was sent to the States to study the hotel architecture … When the commission reached Los Angeles, it was so enchanted … it decided right then and there … that this was the spirit it wanted. Mr. Williams got the job … The selection of Mr. Williams to do the job was a nice compliment to Los Angeles.”
The image of Hotel Nutibara is a rendering by R. Lockwood for Williams’ office to present to the Colombian clients. This photograph is from The Huntington Library Maynard L. Parker archives.
Williams in Home Show
“California Architecture” is the theme of the 1941 Los Angeles Home Show. Air, sunlight and space are important elements used to define this developing style. Photographs, sketches and models by architects Richard Neutra, R. M. Schindler, Cliff May, John Lautner, Lloyd Wright and Paul Williams are among those whose work best illustrate “California Architecture.” (Los Angeles Times, Jan 19, 1941)
Lincoln University Honor
“Paul Williams, celebrated Los Angeles, Calif. architect, … received the honorary degree of Doctor of Science at Lincoln University, Mo., June 10, 1941.” (The Crisis, July 1941)
War! Oahu Bombed by Japanese Planes
The Honolulu Star-Bullentin 1st Extra, December 7, 1941
In the first indication of an attack on Pearl Harbor, Lt. Cmdr. Logan Ramsey sends this message to all U.S. Navy Ships: “Air raid on Pearl Harbor [stop] This is no drill.”
War Must Be Fought On Two World Fronts
New York Times, December 14, 1941
“The most extensive and most devasting war in history began a new and fiercer chapter last week. Many smaller nations followed Japan and the United States into the swift-moving War of the Continents and by the week-end some 34 countries or dominions were at war, with only a handful of neutrals still clinging to a precarious non-belligerency.”
Tile Is Sumptuous in Swimming Pools
Architect and Engineer, April, 1941
“Nothing is more beautiful than tiles, either plain or in designs seen through water. Clear green and blue colors make the water particularly attractive. Above is the corner of a pool at the home of Jay Paley at Beverly Hills, California of which Paul Williams is architect.”
Elizabeth Gordon is editor of House Beautiful
Gracious living magazines are important influences on the 20th century American middle-class consumer. These publications help readers define and live the good life. They are consulted by those who have arrived and can afford an architect and decorator as well as those who only aspire to that life. Powerful editors determine the tone for each magazine and set aesthetic agendas.
Though the circulation for House Beautiful (1896) is not the highest, editor Elizabeth Gordon is one of the most important advocates for an American life-style. Serving as editor from 1941-1964, Gordon’s philosophy on anything and everything pertaining to the home is an important influence on consumer choice. Gordon guides her readers in evaluating, selecting and tastefully displaying the material elements of style according to percepts in monthy editorials. She encourages readers to embrace order and beauty to ensure the ideal family environment. Gordon believes living the ideal life means “not making mistakes in taste, not serving tasteless food, not blundering socially … being open to new possibilities of choice.” (Albert Roland. The Antioch Review Autumn, 1961)
Elizabeth Gordon uses photographic essays to illustrate her aesthetic philosophy. She selects American photographers, interior designers and architects to promote her vision to build “a compelling visual bridge between the forgotten past and the imagined future.” (Jennifer A. Watts. Maynard L. Parker, 2012) In this image Gordon features a 1941 desk detail by the magazine’s in-house decorator Dorothy Lambertson. In House Beautiful Gordon frequently features Paul Revere Willliams’ homes designed for movie stars and wealthy clients as her trend setters.
1941
1942
Pueblo del Rio opensPueblo del Rio opens
Williams is known for his residential work, but he also works on public housing projects in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Pueblo del Rio is one of the first projects of this kind in Los Angeles. Architectural materials are scarce because of military conflicts in Europe and the Pacific, but the Southeast Housing Architects (Williams, Neutra, Wilson, Wurdeman, Becket, Kaufmann) completes this project within the budget, on time and using alternative materials. Pueblo del Rio is a model for public housing around the country in the 1940s.
The landscaping is simplied to save money, but the architects preserve some aspects that are functional as well as attractive: vegetable gardens, seeded lawns and fruit trees. (Architect and Engineer, September 1942).
War time projects
During World War II, private building projects are scarce and many firms shut their offices. Williams closes his practice and devotes his efforts to projects supporting the military and war effort. Williams’ work at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, is an example of his war-time work.
Fort Huachuca, an early 19th century frontier calvary post near the Mexican border, is home of the famed 10th Calvary (“Buffalo Soldiers”). These soldiers are members of one of the Army’s elite African American divisions. During World War II many other African American servicemen train at the fort.
In 1942 Williams designs 125 housing units for the Army at Fort Huachuca, part of an intensive, 18-month building program. An African American company hires Williams in 1943 to design an amusement center for the soldiers in nearby Fry, Arizona. Because of the center’s domed oval roof, the restaurant/bar is popularly known to the soldiers as the Greentop. The building includes a 6400 square feet dance-floor and the bar is decorated with a series of 7 original murals by Chicago artist William E. Scott with the theme New Peace With Victory. An adjacent 50 room dormitory is designed for married officers and their wives. While hard liquor is not served at the Greentop, it is reported that the soldiers drink over two train carloads of draft beer monthly.
The Chicago Bee
A popular African American newspaper of the time, sent a writer to Arizona to report first hand on Williams’ work at Fort Huachuca. He describes the Greentop complex as “the finest Army Recreational Center (barring none) in the United States.” (March 28, 1943)
Bel-Air Gardens Tour Set
Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1942
Exhibit of Famed Estates to Benefit Red Cross Unit
“On the itinerary will be the gardens of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Whittler … showing a victory garden of vegetables and even poultry to add to the rural effect, … Mr. and Mrs. Manfred Meyberg of Copa de Oro Road, nationally known for its pansy lawns…”
Meyberg is a pioneer in American landscaping industry and owns one of the largest garden supply companies in Southern California. For decades he works with Mary Louise Schmidt to organize the California House and Garden Exhibit, an important yearly residential home and garden show in Los Angeles, to promote gardening, landscape design and horticulture. In 1928 Williams designs the Meyberg home where the landscaping and gardens were important features. Around 1948 Maynard L. Parker photographs the landscaping for House Beautiful. (image, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California)
Wallace Neff Invents Airform
Wallace Neff is a California architect known for designing elaborate Spanish Revival-style homes for movie stars in the 1920s and 1930s. He is the first American designer to be called “architect to the stars” by the popular press. He designs mansions for Judy Garland and Groucho Marx and remodels Pickfair, home to Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and Mary Pickford. Neff considers the Airform (bubble house) his greatest contribution to American architecture. Built without wood or nails, the buildings are constructed of inflated Goodyear Neoprene nylon balloons covered in a “hardening” material and insulation. In the final step of construction the balloon is deflated and removed through the doorway leaving a half-bubble form. Neff describes his Airform structures, a 1942 invention, as “a revolutionary method providing for a low-cost, labor-saving process of extremely rapid construction of permanent houses and buildings.” Constructed in a matter of hours instead of weeks, Airforms are an example of modern design available for “the least money using materials that were plentiful.” (Jeffrey Head. No Nails, No Lumber: The Bubble House of Wallace Neff, 2011)
In 1953-1954 Paul Williams collaborates with Neff on a proposal to build 1,000 affordable Airform houses in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their vision is a development of small homes (each 1,000 to 1,200 sq.ft.) open to all races. The architects believe the bubble houses are an inexpensive solution to the housing crisis in the area. Williams prepares the architectural renderings. Unfortunately the unconventional bubble shape construction proved a hard sell to the growing middle-class residential buyer.
Corresponding with Keith White, an executive involved with the project, Neff writes, “Paul Williams, a colored architect in Los Angeles would be the best one to put this deal over. He is one of the members of President Eisenhower’s committees on housing, I think he is the only one that could steer this project to a successful completition.” (Neff Archives, Huntington Library)
Their proposed housing project is never realized.
(Thanks to Jeffrey Head for his insights on Neff, AIRFOM and Paul R. Williams.)
1943
Aluminum City Terrace, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania
Construction on the 250-unit federal housing project Aluminum City Terrace begins in 1942. Architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer design the International-style complex for defense workers imported from around the country during World War II. These workers are employed at an Alcoa aluminum mill. Aluminum City Terrace, an early example of the hundreds of low-cost housing units to be built around the country, is opposed by the local community. They liken the new Gropius/Breuer architectural plans to cold, impersonal “chicken coops” that might lower their property values. Over time community attitudes change and Aluminum City is embraced as a successful housing experiment of high quality construction and careful siting addressing the needs of modern workers.
In 1949 the Aluminium City Terrace units are sold to the renters, financed by the goverment’s Mutual Home Ownership Plan. The complex functions today as a successful cooperative.
Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois
Planning and construction for the Farnsworth House takes six years (1946-1951). Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and owner Dr. Edith B. Farnsworth collaborate on the design and envision the house as a prototype for glass residential buildings. The weekend retreat is designed with an open plan built of glass, steel, concrete and marble. The design and materials blend the International and Modern-styles of architecture. Architectural historians often cite the house as the purist example of Mies van der Rohe’s minimalist theory.
The glass-sided, box-like Farnsworth House is the subject of on-going debate in American architectural history. Is it a “glass shell that floats in the air…one of the most uncompromising modern houses in existence” (House Beautiful, February 1952) or an example of “glib, false sophistication.” (House Beautiful, April 1953) Once friends and collaborators, the relationship between the owner and architect deteriorates. In a series of magazine articles Dr. Farnsworth describes her country retreat as an unworkable, brutal living space with windows that “…steam up in the winter and drive you crazy. You feel as though you are in a car in the rain with a windshield wiper that doesn’t work.” Professional architects of the time defend Mies van der Rohe’s design as “the most important house completed in the U.S. since Frank Lloyd Wright built his desert home in Arizona.” (Architectural Forum, October 1951)
1944
Completes Work on Roosevelt Naval Base Project
Between 1940 and 1943, Williams, a member of the Allied Architects cooperative, works on this important west coast military project. Begun before the start of World War II, this naval facility is a center for Pacific Theater activities.
Photograph courtesy of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Maynard L. Parker photographer.
Williams Pursues Other War Contracts
Soundings: USO Homelike
Los Angeles Times, January 6, 1943
“The East Side U.S.O., which is operated jointly by the Negro Y.W.C.A. and Y.M.C.A., is located at 2814 Paloma St. and its doors stand open daily. The clubrooms, decorated by Paul Williams, are not too large and have an exceptionally homelike atmosphere.”
In this photograph a group of war workers attend a USO hayride. Because of gas shortages and rationing, horse-drawn hayrides are a popular recreational activity.
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is a private, nonprofit organization that provides support and entertainment for the U.S. military. During World War II this organization is famous for their live performances for the troops by Hollywood stars.
Career Used to Promote War Effort
Everybody There
Los Angeles Times, February 3, 1944
Hedda Hopper writes in her column Looking at Hollywood: “Paul Williams, architect, introduced Dora Auger and Mary Jane Colter, architect and decorator from Santa Fe, at Paul Granard’s cocktail party for Elizabeth Gordon and Frances Heard of House Beautiful. While here, girls looked over houses Granard decorated. That means Betty Grable’s, Burt Lahr’s … “
This photograph of Burt Lahr’s home is by Maynard L. Parker from the Huntington Library collection. Lahr’s residence was designed by Paul Williams and decorated by Paul Granard.
Japanese Utterly Beaten says MacArthur
Los Angeles Times, September 12, 1945
On September 2, 1945, Japan formerly surrenders to the Allies on the USS Missouri. Germany had already surrendered by May 1945. With Japan’s surrender the world-wide conflict ends.
This newsreel of Japan’s formal surrender plays in movie theaters around the world.
Japanese Utterly Beaten says MacArthur
Los Angeles Times, September 12, 1945
On September 2, 1945, Japan formerly surrenders to the Allies on the USS Missouri. Germany had already surrendered by May 1945. With Japan’s surrender the world-wide conflict ends.
This newsreel of Japan’s formal surrender plays in movie theaters around the world.
Williams publishes two books
When World War II ends, 17 million service personnel return to civilian life and need affordable housing. Williams addresses this problem in two pattern books: The Small Home of Tomorrow (1945) and New Homes for Today (1946). The plans and lifestyles shown in these books reflect Williams’ belief in the importance of homeownership and the future of American middle class housing. Reviews appear in the important professional journals and design magazines of the day. Architects, builders and the general public are encouraged to read them and be mindful of Williams’ advise.
Paul Wiliams formulates his small house philosophy throughout his career. The early architectural competitions he enters often center on designing small, affordable housing using specific building materials. He shows progress with each submission as he imagines what these homes could be. Before he is known as the designer of impressive historic revival homes, Williams is acknowledged by his peers as a master of the small house.
Williams never stops thinking about the importance of expanding the availability of affordable housing to all Americans. In an essay published in Ebony (August 1963) Wiliams looks back on his career wistfully writing, “If I were young today I would start with the need for the development of the small home with the thought that a charming inexpensive home could be produced for the masses by forgetting the formula of houses today and mixing imagination with my thinking. What the world needs today is a new concept for a substantial, economical house.”
In 2015 Phil Hall posts a thoughtful essay on the electronic publication Progress In Lending Association (February 5, 2015) reminding his readers of the timeliness of Paul Williams’ smart thoughts on small homes. Williams “offered a bold challenge to home builders and property developers: create a new landscape of residential housing that was both aesthetically pleasing and efficient while keeping cost at a level that returning veterans and their families could properly afford… At a time when housing planning at every level … seems more reactive than proactive, the concept of taking the time to think things out becomes a very attractive commmodity.”
Imposing New Buildings in Colombia, S.A., Designed by Los Angeles ArchitectImposing New Buildings in Colombia, S.A., Designed by Los Angeles Architect
Southwest Builder and Contractor, December 21, 1945
“Architect Paul R. Williams of Los Angeles, internationally famous for his designs, ranging from modest homes to magnificent metropolitan structures, has designed four unusually interesting buildings—one completed, one under construction, and two to be built soon—in Colombia South America.”
This rendering by R. Allen of a lobby interior illustrates Williams’ vision for a South American hotel.
The Wilfandel Club of Los Angeles Established
The Wilfandel Club of Los Angeles is established November 21, 1945 by a group of socially prominent African American women. Della Williams, Paul Williams’ wife, is a founding member. The goal of this African American club, the oldest in the city, is to promote civic improvement, cultural and philanthropic endeavors. By the 1950s the Wilfandel club house is recognized as an integrated public meeting place—one of the few in the city.
The House i want
The Times (Los Angeles), January 26, 1889
“Kate Field has written a pleasant letter…in which she discourses of the winter resorts of California, and also refers to those old monuments of a past civilization still remaining in our midst. She says: ‘There appeared in the New York Critic a communication to the effect that the much vaunted missions of California were architecturally beneath contempt, and that Helen Hunt Jackson was indebted to her fancy for her praise of these ruins….If there be churches elsewhere as picturesque as the restored mission at Santa Barbara or the (alas!) unrestored San Luis Rey… I know not there existence.’ “
Casa de Rancho Camulos, pictured here, is an example of a California mission immortalized in Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel Ramona.
1945
1946
1947
1948
Designer for Living
Tennis Club, Palm Springs
Appointed by Governor to State Agency
Masterful Planning and Execution Mark Palm Springs Tennis Club Expansion
Levittown, Long Island, NY
St. Louis Arch, The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Arch
Advises on movie Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream House
Something Clients Want
Portrait to Be Unveiled