Paul R. Williams - I Am an Architect: Paul R. Williams and His Archive

Discover the visionary legacy of the groundbreaking architect Paul R. Williams, FAIA, one of the most prolific Black architects of the 20th century.

Paul R. Williams (1894–1980), among the first Black members of the American Institute of Architects, was a defining force in shaping the city of Los Angeles and Southern California, yet his impact was undoubtedly global.

Threading together Williams’s biography, social histories of Los Angeles, and transformations in the profession, this richly researched monograph traces his remarkable career against the evolving landscape of Los Angeles and the wider architectural world.

• Presents the first research-driven monograph on preeminent architect Paul R. Williams.
• Features nearly 200 images, including many never-before published drawings, renderings, and archival materials.
• Williams’s expansive oeuvre spans everything from early residential commissions in the 1920s to civic, religious, commercial, and cultural landmarks that came to define Los Angeles’s identity at midcentury.
• Examines the intersection of race, space, and professional practice in twentieth-century American architecture.
• Highlights Williams’s commitment to designing for Black communities and advancing social change through architecture.

Step into the world of a visionary who transformed cities and challenged barriers―this volume invites you to get to know Paul R. Williams and the enduring power of architecture to shape society.

This volume is published to accompany an exhibition on view at the Fisher Museum of Art at the University of Southern California from August 18, 2026, to March 13, 2027, Los Angeles County Museum of Art from November 15, 2026, to May 31, 2027, and Getty Research Institute at the Getty Center from December 16, 2026, to July 18, 2027.

LeRonn P. Brooks is an art historian and curator of the African American Art History Initiative at the Getty Research Institute.

Gary Riichirō Fox is assistant curator of architecture at the Getty Research Institute.