Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/21555
ABOVE: Detail of Hollywood YMCA RIGHT: L.E. Blackburn residence, 4791 W. Cromwell Avenue, built 1927. Officially Historic Cultural Monument #913, the Span- ish Colonial Revival design exhibits its floor plan, spread over a hillside, in a clear ac- knowledgement of the “form follows function” principles of the then new philosophy, Modernism. Sinatra, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, Lon Chaney, ZaSu Pitts, Barbara Stan- wyck, Tyrone Power, William “Bojangles” Robin- son and Eddie “Rochester” Anderson. Granddaughter Karen Hudson estimates that he was involved in 3,000 proj- ects. In addition to his many residential projects, he is credited with the design of the LAX Teme Building. After his death in 1980, Hudson embarked upon re- search to prepare his biogra- phy. Williams’ own dream of writing his memoirs, which might have opened a win- dow to his feelings, was stymied by failing eyesight in his senior years. Hudson herself was stymied by her grandfather’s discretion. What could she say about his impressions of people and places when he had left such a limited written record? Fortunately coverage of her project in the Los Angeles Times led 500 individuals to respond with their own Paul Williams accounts. Te unexpected deluge of letters revealed “his quiet, unspoken struggle against racism,” Hudson wrote in her book, “Paul R. Williams, Architect: A Legacy of Style.” He did not dwell upon “the chal- lenges presented by his race, but for those 36 DISCOVER HOLLYWOOD / WINTER 2010 who worked with him and engaged his services, the memories of unpleasant expe- riences were extremely vivid.” To “keep his distance,” he taught him- self to draw upside-down so he could sit across a desk from prospective clients. Before his reputation was established, and he was a known leader in his field, visitors came to his office with no preconceived notions. “Te moment they met me and discovered they were dealing with a Negro, I could see many of them freeze,” he wrote in a 1937 essay for American Magazine. “Teir interest in discussing plans waned instantly and their one re-