@tonymian_: Paul Revere Williams became the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects in 1923, two years after getting his California license. Over the next five decades he designed more than three thousand buildings across Southern California — the Crescent Wing and Fountain Coffee Room at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Theme Building at LAX, the Shrine Auditorium, and homes for Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and Barbara Stanwyck. He was building those houses in neighborhoods he couldn't have bought into himself. Beverly Hills and Bel-Air had racial covenants written into the property deeds, clauses barring Black families from purchasing. They weren't struck down until 1948. He also taught himself to draw upside down. White clients were uncomfortable sitting next to him, so he learned to sketch from across the table, inverted, while they watched right side up. On job sites he kept his hands behind his back, so anyone who didn't want to shake it didn't have to. The system wouldn't let him buy the land, so he settled for building the city. What's your favorite Paul Williams building? #paulwilliams #losangeles #beverlyhills #architecture

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Monday 17 August 2026 23:34:58 GMT