Paul Williams: Black Architect to the Stars

Paul Williams (1894 to 1980) was a Los Angeles-based architect known for his daring designs of homes for the rich and famous. Certified in 1921, he was the first black architect west of the Mississippi and gained notoriety in an era when blacks were virtually invisible in the profession of architecture.  Read a Los Angeles Times feature article on his work HERE.  His legacy is also referenced in the introduction to the Bunche Center’s edited volume on black life in Los Angeles, Black Los Angeles:  American Dreams and Racial Realities.