![]() Williams studied architecture at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and trained at several prominent Los Angeles firms before starting his own practice. His work is distinguished by a mix of styles and types, from hotels and restaurants to churches and hospitals. One of the most well-known black architects, Paul Revere Williams’ 50-year career and over 2,000-designed homes has played a major role in shaping Southern California’s signature architectural style. Right: LAX Theme Building images via American Institute of Architects and Flickr user thomashawk Paul Revere Williams He also laid out architectural plans and devised a program in industrial training for the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata, Liberia. Over the course of his career, Taylor designed more than 25 buildings on the Tuskegee campus, along with libraries, housing, museums, and other academic buildings across the United States. The institute is an African American vocational school that is now a designated National Historic Site. Washington, who later recruited him to lead the industrial program and campus expansion of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Taylor attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, becoming the school’s first black graduate. He grew up in North Carolina where he worked as a carpenter and foreman for his father, Henry Taylor, who was a former slave. Robert Robinson Taylor was the first academically trained and credentialed black architect in America. Postal Service and Getty Images/Stephen Saks Robert Robinson Taylor Left: Architect Robert Robinson Taylor on the 2015 Black Heritage Stamp Series and Left: one of his projects images via U.S. ![]() Higher-education institutions and firms often excluded individuals entirely based on race alone. African Americans have historically been deprived of exposure or completely barred from the craft altogether. The architecture industry has itself long been a homogeneous space, dominated by white men. Across all facets of American society, people of color have been faced with innumerable obstacles to overcome in order to secure the concept of the “American Dream”. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on America’s past as a nation built upon the institution of slavery and racial tyranny that has and continues to disenfranchise African Americans to this day. This is a time to observe and celebrate the achievements of blacks and the central role that African Americans have played in the United States. Learn more and register >įebruary is Black History Month. For decades to come, Lafayette Square remained an oasis, as did areas such as Leimert Park and Baldwin Hills." (See Donald Bogle, "Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood,, n.p.Judging for the 11th A+Awards is now underway! While awaiting the Winners, prepare for the upcoming Architizer Vision Awards, honoring the best architectural photography, film, visualizations, drawings, models and the talented creators behind them. ![]() Later Paul Williams's daughters Marilyn and Norma followed, with their families. But other African Americans moved into beautiful homes on tree-lined streets. When Paul and Della Williams arrived, the area was predominantly white. Author Donald Bogle quoted architect Paul Williams remarking about the design of his house: "'I wanted it to be a place to live in first and foremost,' said Williams, 'not just something to show off.' But it was a showplace. This Lafayette Square section of the West Adams District, was also known as "Sugar Hill." It was a key residential area open to wealthy African-American families before racially-restrictive covenants were outlawed by the Supreme Court in the Shelley vs Kraemer decision (1948). Williams was the leading African-American architect in Los Angeles and probably the United States, responsible for the houses of Hollywood celebrities, i.e., the Lon Chaney House, Beverly Hills, CA, (1930) and large projects such as the Los Angeles Airport (LAX) Expansion (1961, done in association with Welton Becket and Associates and Luckman and Pereira). Williams (1894-1980) designed this West Adams District house for himself and his wife, Della.
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