Paul-Revere-Williams

Where Credit is Due

Architect Paul Revere Williams gains accolades that racial divides had denied him when he was alive.

Lydia Kremer Current Digital, Modernism

Paul-Revere-Williams
Architect Paul R. Williams died in 1980, but recent events have given greater attention and accolades to his work.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FAMILY OF PAUL R. WILLIAMS

Although Paul Revere Williams carved out a prolific career, his rightful place among great U.S. architects did not come during his lifetime.

Based in Los Angeles, Williams left his mark in Palm Springs as co-designer of a pair of historic structures: The Tennis Club (1946) and the Town and Country Center (1948). He also designed an extensive remodel of El Mirador Hotel (1952) and a desert home for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz at Thunderbird Country Club (1954).

Williams died in 1980, but recent events have given greater attention and accolades to his work.

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PHOTGRAPH COURTESY PALM SPRINGS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

One of Paul R. Williams’ signature Palm Springs buildings was the Town and Country Center in collaboration with A. Quincy Jones.

In February, Modernism Week dedicated a star for Williams on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, joining modernist icons Albert Frey, Hugh Kaptur, Donald Wexler, E. Stewart Williams, Richard Harrison, William Krisel, William Cody, A. Quincy Jones, and Richard Neutra.

And in 2017, the American Institute of Architects gave Williams a Gold Medal, its highest honor. Williams was the first African American architect to win the award.

At the height of Williams’ career, from the 1940s through the ’60s, African Americans were not openly welcomed in society. Although Williams was renowned for designing lavish homes in the tony Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, many of those neighborhoods were designated as white-only. A client who was aware of Williams’ reputation wanted him to design her home. When he arrived for their first meeting, the client was astonished that Williams was African American.

Despite these obstacles, Williams enjoyed a successful career, designing thousands of buildings while mastering an eclectic range of architectural styles.

“Paul R. Williams enjoyed a distinguished architectural career designing significant commercial, public, and residential projects, each with a refined modern design sensibility,” noted Sidney Williams (no relation), an architecture and design curator and consultant in Palm Springs.

Unfortunately, much of Williams’ archival work was destroyed 25 years ago during the riots following the verdict in the Rodney King case against Los Angeles police officers. The Broadway Federal Savings & Loan in Los Angeles, which housed Williams’ archives, went up in flames.

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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY THE FAMILY OF PAUL R. WILLIAMS

Much of Paul R. Williams' archival work was destroyed 25 years ago during the riots following the Rodney King verdict in Los Angeles.

Williams’ signature Palm Springs buildings resulted from trademark collaborations with Jones on The Tennis Club and the Town and Country Center. The Tennis Club “hugs the San Jacinto Mountains and provides views of the rock face as well as a panorama of the pool below and the desert beyond,” notes SidneyWilliams. Spencer’s, one of the most popular restaurants in Palm Springs, is located at the Tennis Club.

With the Town and Country Center, Williams and Jones created a courtyard retail complex with a stunning second-story restaurant. Designed in the International Style and built between 1946 and 1955, Town and Country Center was a vibrant part of downtown Palm Springs, offering dining and shopping in an welcoming, open-air courtyard.

In recent years, Town and Country Center has been caught between preservation and development. Originally thought to be headed for demolition, a 10-year battle with local preservationists came to a head in 2016 when the Palm Springs City Council voted to designate the property a Class 1 Historic Site, effectively preserving the expansive complex.

While its future remains to be determined, Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon has noted that Town and Country Center “signifies a point in the city’s history when Palm Springs was moving from a quaint village to a destination city known around the world.”

The restoration of this piece of Palm Springs’ architectural history would be a fitting tribute to Williams’ impressive but bittersweet legacy.

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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FAMILY OF PAUL R. WILLIAMS