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Four Black men in suits examine a building model on a table. One man points to the model as the others look on. A calendar with an image of two figures is visible on the wall behind them.
A vintage black and white photo of The Beverly Hills Hotel shows its iconic sign on the side of the building, with palm trees and a classic car in the foreground. The hotel's geometric architecture and balconies are visible, set against a clear sky.
A solitary figure walks on a sidewalk in front of identical, two-story apartment buildings with flat roofs. The scene depicts a residential street with trees and a clear sky dotted with clouds.
Black and white photograph of a lobby with a large mural above a reception desk, two men seated on a bench, and plants trailing from marble columns
A dog sits on a manicured lawn in a sunny backyard, viewed through an arched patio opening. The backyard features a white house with a bay window, and outdoor furniture can be seen on the patio.

Paul R. Williams: Architect for Living

Exhibition dates November 15, 2026 – May 31, 2027
Location Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Resnick Pavilion
Curators Staci Steinberger and Sarah Locke

A singular figure in twentieth-century architecture, Paul R. Williams (1894–1980) transformed both the architectural profession and the built environment of his native Southern California in a career that spanned from the 1910s to the early 1970s. The most prominent Black American architect of his era, Williams succeeded despite systemic racism, diversifying the public face of the profession and inspiring future generations.

Famed for palatial celebrity residences and sumptuous renovations of glamorous hotels, Williams helped define luxury in Hollywood’s Golden Age. But his prolific career extended far beyond these rarefied circles. He built thousands of more modest dwellings, as well as numerous churches, schools, hospitals, and important commercial and civic projects. His contributions spanned the region—helping to shape neighborhoods that ranged from exclusive white enclaves in Beverly Hills and Hancock Park to historically Black districts in South Los Angeles—and extended across the United States and Latin America.

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In 1923 Williams became the first known Black member to join the American Institute of Architects. He was later named its first Black fellow in 1957 and posthumously became the first Black winner of its prestigious Gold Medal in 2017. In spite of these and numerous other accolades, he has remained until now an understudied figure within architectural history in general and museums in particular.

This website was created to accompany the exhibition Paul R. Williams: Architect for Living (November 15, 2026–May 31, 2027), which was organized in conjunction with two partner exhibitions, Paul R. Williams: Architecture Across the Color Line at the Getty Research Institute (December 15, 2026–March 14, 2027) and Paul R. Williams: An Architect Considered at the USC Fisher Museum of Art (August 18, 2026–March 13, 2027). Collectively, these projects form the most comprehensive museum exploration of Williams’s influential career to date and mark the public debut of the architect’s extensive archive, which was jointly acquired by the University of Southern California School of Architecture and the Getty Research Institute in 2020. The opening of this archive to researchers—along with the publication of the monograph I Am an Architect: Paul R. Williams and His Archive (Getty Publications, forthcoming December 2026)—promises to invite further scholarship and a deeper understanding of his groundbreaking career.

This website builds on the work of Williams’s granddaughter Karen E. Hudson—who has long stewarded the architect’s legacy—and on previous projects, including the Paul Williams Project of the Art Museum of the University of Memphis, Paul Revere Was Here Tour of the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Southern California Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects, and A Legacy Revered: Janna Ireland on the Architectural Legacy of Paul Revere Williams of the Nevada Museum of Art. It provides another entry point to learning about Williams’s architectural influence and his transformational impact on the built environment, particularly in his native Southern California. Here, you can explore key projects that Paul R. Williams designed, organized thematically and mapped across the region.