Draftsman, Wilbur D. Cook, Jr., Landscape Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1913.

Draftsman, Reginald D. Johnson, Architect, Pasadena, CA, 1914-1917. In 1917, Johnson had his office in the Staats Building in Pasadena, CA, at 61 South Raymond Avenue. (See Pasadena, California, City Directory, 1917, p. 470.)

Draftsman/Designer, Arthur F. Kelly, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1917-1921.

Designer/Chief Draftsman, John C.W. Austin, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1921-1924. According to the Paul Williams Project.org, "...Paul R. Williams worked at John C. Austin's firm primarily designing commercial buildings. Eventually he became Chief Draftsman with a staff of twenty. In 1921 Paul R. Williams passed the State of California's architectural licensing examination and shortly after opened his own office. He continued to work for Austin until he developed his own client base. Williams maintained his relationship with Austin and collaborated with him throughout the years." (See "Young Paul R. Williams," accessed 02/06/2014.)

Principal, Paul R. Williams, Architect, Los Angeles, CA. In 1950, Williams and his wife gave a permanent address on transatlantic passenger manifest of 3757 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, likely an office address. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715; RG Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; RG: 85, accessed 07/17/2024.)

Professional Service

Williams became a Registered Architect in the State of CA in 1921. He was the first Afircan-American man to become a Registered Architect.

When surveyed in 1955, he indicated that he was a registered architect in CA, DC and NY; when surveyed in 1962, Williams indicated that he was a registered architect in CA, DC, NY, and TN.

Governor Earl Warren (1891-1974) appointed Williams to a new five-person State Urban Redevelopment Commission in late 1947; others on the commission were planner, L. Deming Tilton of San Francisco, Howard Nichols of Bakersfield, Howard C. Gampen of San Jose, and Festus T. McDounough of Los Angeles.

Professional Awards

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA) for Public Service, 1957. Williams was the first African-American to gain fellowship.

Honorary Member, Sigma Pi Phi, Moega Psi Phi, and Grand Boule;

Recipient, Spingarn Medal, National Association of Colored People (NAACP), 1953; the Springarm Medal was an award "...that singles out Negroes who have made an unusual contribution to community life." (See "The Spingarn Award," New York Times, 06/28/1953, p. E8)

Recipient, AIA, Gold Medal, 2017. This medal, the highest individual honor bestowed by the AIA, was awarded posthumously, 37 years after the architect's death.

Archives

As noted Paul Williams Project.org website, "the majority of Paul R. Williams' professional papers were destroyed during the Los Angeles riots in the 1990s." (See Paul Revere Williams Project.org, "Frank Sinatra Residence, Bowmont Drive, Trousdale Estates," accessed 07/17/2024.)

Some of Paul R. Williams Papers were housed at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis (AMUM). The AMUM has an on-going research effort surrounding Williams's life and career, known as the "Paul R. Williams Project."

In 06/2020, the Getty Research Institute and the architect's alma mater the University of Southern California (USC) acquired the Paul Revere Williams Archive. (See Getty.edu, "Archive of Architect Paul Revere Williams Jointly Acquired by USC and Getty," published 06/30/2020, accessed 07/11/2024 and USC Architecture.edu, "Paul R. Williams Archive," accessed 07/11/2024.)

Elementary School/High School/College

Williams attended the Sentous Avenue Elementary School, Los Angeles, CA.

Diploma, Polytechnic High School, Los Angeles, CA, 1912.

Studio work, Society of Beaux Arts Architects of California, Los Angeles, CA, 1913-1916.

Course in architectural engineering, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, CA.

Relocation

Williams was born in Los Angeles, CA, where his parents Chester and Lila Williams had recently migrated from Memphis, TN, in 1894. His parents both died young, and Paul was transferred to the care of Charles Isaiah Clarkson (born c. 04/1856 in PA) and Emily P. Clarkson (born c. 03/1859 in IA). The Clarksons had no children of their own, but they had gotten to know Chester and Lila through the Los Angeles First African Methodist Episcopal Church, and took in Paul following his mother's death in 1898. C.D. Clarkson had lived in Los Angeles by at least 1888, and worked as a janitor after that time, in 1900 and 1901, at the Los Angeles National Bank. (See Los Angeles Directory for 1888, n.p., 1888 and Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1901, p. 212.) The Clarksons resided 1707 Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, and also had a boarder, Homer Harrison (born c. 01/1860 in LA), a day laborer, to supplement their income. All members of the Clarkson household were categorized as "black" by the 1900 US Census official. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Los Angeles Ward 4, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 89; Page: 19; Enumeration District: 0042, accessed 07/17/2024.)

As noted by the 1910 US Census, Williams remained in the household of Emily Clarkson, who had been widowed and now worked as a hairdresser. Paul was listed as her "god-son" and Emily had two other boarders living with her, Georgia Louis (born c. 1841 in MD), also a widow, who had had five children during her lifetime (none of whom survived in 1910), and Francis E. Louis (born c. 1891 in CA), possibly a granddaughter, who worked as a stenographer. All were listed as "mulatto" in the census. Paul Williams did not work at age 16, as per this document. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 72, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_82; Page: 8b; Enumeration District: 0152; FHL microfilm: 1374095, accessed 07/17/2024.)

Emily Clarkson would continue to play an important role in Paul's life, supporting him even after his marriage to Della Givens in 1917. According to Williams's World War I draft registration card, the architect lived at 1530 East 21st Street in Los Angeles in on 06/05/1917 and worked as a draftsman for the Pasadena architect Reginald Johnson. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: California; Registration County: Los Angeles Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 07/17/2024.) As documented in the 1920 US Census, the architect lived with Della and Emily at 1530 21st Street in Los Angeles. He worked in the office Los Angeles architect Arthur F. Kelly at that time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 73, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_113; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 385, accessed 07/17/2024.)

By 1922, Williams took the unusual step of founding his own architectural firm, and began earning a good living, particularly for a mixed race man of the time. Racial intolerance was particularly virulent during the 1920s, and Los Angeles, with its great level of prosperity from the booming movie business, oil production and other sources, offered opportunities not found elsewhere.

Williams and his family could own their own house at 1271 West 35th Street in 1930, worth about $4,000, on par with neighboring dwellings. Aside from Paul, Della and their two daughters, Marilyn and Norma, they also lodged a 16-year-old black man from Mississippi, Willie Arrington. Supporting this young man may have been a way Williams gave back to his community for the kindness showed him by Emily Clarkson.

This 1271 West 35th Street residential site, located between the West Adams and Exposition Park neighborhoods had an unusual, integrated character in 1930, with African-American, Caucasian and Japanese-American families living side-by side. Usually, racially restrictive covenants barred those of African, Asian and non-Christian descents from entering new tracts. Located nearby to the University of Southern California (USC), this area likely had more tolerant and educated people than other parts of Los Angeles.

Williams and his family remained at 1271 West 35th Street in 1940. The household had added an African-American domestic worker, Ernestine Moulton (born c. 1908 in TX). The dwelling's value had escalated modestly to $4,500. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: m-t0627-00417; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 60-381, accessed 07/17/2024.) They continued to reside here in 1950, as well. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 2611; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 66-2205, accessed 07/17/2024.)

He died in Los Angeles County, CA, at the age of 85.

Parents

His parents were Chester Stanley Williams, Sr and Lila A. Wright Williams. They both had migrated from Memphis, TN, several years before Paul's birth in 1894, where Chester worked as a waiter in the first Peabody Hotel's dining room. On arrival in Los Angeles, Chester took the opportunity to work for himself, and he opened a fruit stand at the Old Town Plaza. Paul had an older brother, Chester, Jr., who had been born at the Peabody Hotel. (See Paul R. Williams Project, "About the Project," accessed 06/26/2015.) Chester died of tuberculosis in 1896, while Lila passed away from the same disease in 1898.

Spouse

He married Della Mae Givens (born 11/18/1895 in Neosho, MO-d. 07/24/1996 in Los Angeles, CA) on 07/05/1917 in Los Angeles, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California Department of Public Health, courtesy of www.vitalsearch-worldwide.com. Digital Images, accessed 07/16/2024.) Her parents Philip Givens, Jr., (born 01/1857 in KY-d. 09/18/1929 in Los Angeles, CA) and Cordelia Perry (born 02/01/1864 in Louisville, KY-d. 10/22/1944 in Los Angeles, CA) had had thirteen children (of whom nine survived in 1900), with Della being the third youngest. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Neosho, Newton, Missouri; Roll: 878; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0108, accesed 07/16/2024.) The family relocated to Los Angeles at some point between 1903 and 1909. They resided at 911 East 32nd Street in the latter year, and had another son, Wilder, in CA by 07/1909, according to the 1910 US Census, although his name was not present in other lists of Givens children. Philip (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 70, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_81; Page: 2a; Enumeration District: 0254; FHL microfilm: 1374094, accessed 07/16/2024.)

By 1914, Della worked as a clerk, and dwelled with her family at 921 East 32nd Street in the South-Central neighborhood of Los Angeles. (See Los Angeles City Directory, 1914, p. 1067.)

According to the California Death Index, Della Williams had been born in MO and died in Los Angeles County. (See "Della Mae Givens Williams," California Death Index, accessed 03/17/2015.) She lived over 100 years.

Children

When surveyed in 1955, Williams indicated that he had had two children, his daughters, Marilyn Frances Williams Hudson (born 12/25/1926 in Los Angeles, CA-d. 09/25/2015 in Los Angeles, CA) and Norma Lucille Williams Harvey (born 09/18/1928 in Los Angeles, CA).

Marilyn became a leading figure in African-American society of Los Angeles during the 20th century, quietly exerting influence in various social circles and attaining status as a key social advocate. In 1946, Marilyn married Elbert Hudson (born 11/16/1920 in Shreveport, LA-d. 08/08/2017 in Los Angeles, CA), son of H. Claude Hudson (born 04/19/1886 in Marksville, LA-d. 01/26/1989 in Los Angeles, CA), President of Broadway Federal Savings, according to the Los Angeles Times.com, "one of the oldest black-owned banks in the country." (See Marilyn Woo, Los Angeles Times.com, "Marilyn Hudson dies at 88; L.A. civic leader broke society race barriers," publised 10/03/2015, accessed 07/17/2024.)

Norma married Frank A. Harvey on 08/27/1952 in Los Angeles, and became an interior designer, working in her father's practice. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1949-1959 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, accessed 07/17/2024.) They divorced on 07/18/1979 in Los Angeles. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Divorce Index, 1966-1984 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007, accessed 07/17/2024.)

Karen Hudson was one granddaughter, who wrote the book, Paul R. Williams, Architect, (New York: Rizzoli, 1993). Hudson has been responsible for a great deal of scholarship that has been done on her grandfather.

Personal Notes

Williams was one the pioneering African-American architects in California, the most successful during the first half of the 20th century. He was known as "P.R." to some of his employees; Williams served on a small committee of the American Institute of Architects, Southern California Chapter, advising movie producers on the film, "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," in 1947. Paul R. Williams participated in a New York Herald-Tribune Forum held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1953, on "relationship between American industry and art, and the influence of mechanization on cultural values in the United States...." Williams, along with Henry Dreyfuss, industrial designer, Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., President of Steuben Glass, Incorporated, Charles E. Odegaard, Dean of the College of Literature, Science and Arts, University of MI, and Francis Henry Taylor, Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; this forum was carried live on WNYC-FM radio. In 1959, Williams was one of 44 Republicans chosen to draft a statement of policy and objectives for the Republican Party. He was referred to as "Paul R. Williams, Los Angeles architect and Negro leader." SSN: 567-20-8337.

His World War I draft registration card listed Williams as "negro," and as being tall and slender, with dark brown eyes and black hair. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Registration State: California; Registration County: Los Angeles Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, accessed 07/17/2024.)

In 1950, Paul, Della and Norma Williams all sailed first class aboard the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique's luxury liner SS Île-de-France from Southampton, England, to New York, NY, between 06/20/1950 and 06/26/1950. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715; RG Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; RG: 85, accessed 07/17/2024.)

• Los Angeles, CA (Architect's Death)
  Los Angeles, CA

  ---

  OpenStreetMap (new tab)

  Google Map (new tab)

  

  ---

• Los Angeles, CA (Architect's Birth)
  Los Angeles, CA

  ---

  OpenStreetMap (new tab)

  Google Map (new tab)

  

  ---