Paul Revere Williams, Architect
Born in 1894. Parents Chester and Lila Williams died before he turned five. Was put into a foster care home.
Acquired his architectural license in 1921. In 1923 he became the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects.
Lon Chaney, Sr. Residence, Beverly Hills
Hired by Lon Chaney to design a home for him in the Hollywood Hills and after that design a weekend retreat known as "the rockhouse". Chaney and his wife Hazel owned two Paul R. Williams designed residences. One, a simple stone and metal roofed cabin built in the California wilderness and the second, a recently completed two-story Italian Revival-style mansion in Beverly Hills. In the final months of his life Chaney and Williams collaborated on the design of this large residence. (Los Angeles Times. September 14, 1930) Temporarily living at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the actor sketched out his “exacting requirements” and “selected the furniture for the house he dreamed about but which, sadly he never occupied.” (Michael F. Blake. A Thousand Faces. 1995)
In a 1970 Los Angeles Times interview, Williams remembered how difficult it was to cater to newly affluent clients with little experience living with the trappings of wealth. His final design was often the result of balancing their taste with what the architect considered “the bounds of grace.” (October 11, 1970) Lon Chaney, however, was a star with a quiet, private life—shunning public acclaim. He once said “My home is my own. The public I am sure has no curiosity about my domestic life.” Unlike other movie stars of the time, studio publicity departments were never allowed in his home to photograph the interior. (The Tuscaloosa News. September 1, 1930) Williams recognized Chaney’s innate shyness and need for privacy. He designed his Beverly Hills home as a sanctuary. Williams said, “He hated going to a fine restaurant and having fans gather around and watch which spoon he was using.” To accommodate Chaney, Williams designed a posh, formal dining room where the star and his wife could dine alone.
Chaney and Williams were both masters of disguise. Using makeup Chaney created scores of exotic characters. Paul Williams used a variety of new and old building materials to transform many of the mansions he designed into homes with an instant history. In the Chaney home the architect created this allusion by combining recycled 65-year-old bricks, traditional hand-made roof tiles and mature landscaping.
Though the exterior of his home was a style typical in Southern California in the 1920s, Chaney insisted on state-of-the-art construction materials and interiors. One detail was the use of modern, high-grade building paper under the masonry to improve “dwelling insulation.” Williams’ use of this simple material was featured in professional magazines as an excellent example of the affective use of new technology in a residence “of the highest class.” (West Coast Builder. August, 1930)
Chaney, who was slow to transition to the new talking movies, insisted that his home be wired with the latest sound technology. “A combination radio and phonograph that can be controlled from any principal room was built into the house” with the speakers hidden behind decorative screens. (Los Angeles Times. September 14, 1930) Williams created a series of chestnut wood, secret panels to conceal the many modern conveniences Chaney wanted.
Chaney died before he was able to move into the home and his widow refused to live there. The sale was advertised in the Los Angeles Times as a residence “never intended for the market, must be sold at a price worthy of the attention of those who appreciate the best in architecture and construction.” In 1931 the house and contents were sold to Chicago attorney Frank Hann for $80,000. (Los Angeles Times. February 22, 1931)
"the rockhouse"
The rustic cabin (1929-30) that Paul R. Williams designed for Chaney in the California High Sierras, now John Muir Wilderness, was built as a vacation home for the star. Built under a government “special use” permit, Chaney owned the cabin, but only leased the half-acre of land. In 1929 the cabin site was hard to reach and was without a road for the last 1 1/2 miles. (A detail that complicated Williams' design.) The busy movie star thought his rustic home in the wilderness was paradise, "Tonight I start out for the High Sierra. No shaving, no makeup, no interviews for four long, lazy weeks ...We sleep under the pines and I try to climb high enough to reach the snows." (Los Angeles Times. June 7, 2003)
The 1,288-square-foot granite fieldstone building, now with a corrugated metal roof, was unlike anything Williams ever designed. Costing $12,000, the building had two-foot thick walls, a gable roof and kerosene lamp lighting. Though the interior was simple, consisting of one large living room and a separate kitchen, it had a number of Williams touches—a large granite fireplace, tongue-in-groove pine flooring and amazing views of a canyon and Big Pine Creek. Chaney and his family, all avid fishermen, had often camped at that site before the cabin was built, and they loved its location. The orientation of the building ensured that the views became an important design element. Unfortunately, Chaney spent only a few months at his cabin, dying in August, 1930 within a short time of its completion
The building was sold in 1932 and again in 1955. In 1980, after the special use permit expired, the structure became government property. For a number of years the Park Service considered different uses for the cabin and even studied its demolition, but soon realized that the amount of dynamite needed to destroy the granite structure would cause more damage to the environment than letting it stay. In 1982, the Park Service decided to nominate the cabin for the Register of Historic Places because of its relationship to both Chaney and Williams. It still remains on the list waiting for official designation.
"Nothing captured Paul's imagination as much as the creation of the spacious half million dollar English Tudor." says racehorse owner Jack Atkin.
Aware that some Whites might not like a Black man leaning over their shoulders to show them a design, Paul learned to write upside down so that he could face clients while drawing a sketch they could see right before them.
