IN THE SPOTLIGHT Two books on Architect Paul R. Williams REVIEWED BY SCARLET CHENG
Master Architects of Southern California 1920–1940 by Marc Appleton, Stephen Gee and Bret Parsons 208 pages Angel City Press Regarding Paul R. Williams: A Photographer’s View by Janna Ireland 224 pages Angel City Press
Above: Sinatra House, Beverly Hills. From Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940: Paul R. Williams. Opposite page: Paul R. Williams. From Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940: Paul R. Williams.
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When Paul Revere Williams died in 1980 at the age of 85, he left behind one of the most remarkable legacies in Los Angeles architecture. He not only designed homes so elegant and livable that he was avidly sought after by such celebrities as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Barbara Stanwyck and Lon Chaney, he also designed institutional and commercial buildings that are with us still such as the Beverly Hills Hotel and the New Hope Baptist Church. When still in his 20s, he was appointed to the city’s first planning commission. In 1923 he was elected to the American Institute of Architects, the first African American admitted. Two books about the architect have come out recently, both from our own Angel City Press. One is part of the Master Architects of Southern California 1920–1940 series, written by Marc Appleton, Stephen Gee and Bret Parsons and utilizing pages from Architectural Digest magazine when it was based in Los Angeles. The other book is Regarding Paul R. Williams: A Photographer’s View, by Janna Ireland, who spent several years photographing the exteriors and interiors of Williams’ extant buildings. If you live in the greater Los Angeles area, you have passed by or walked through one of his buildings—he designed some 3,000 of them, including some in other cities. Unfortunately, a number have been demolished.
