By Shirley Hawkins
Contributing Writer
CRENSHAW — A colorful mural depicting legendary architect Paul Revere Williams, the first renowned African-American architect in Los Angeles, was celebrated Nov. 9 by relatives, civic leaders, friends and stakeholders at the AutoZone store located at the corner of 59th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard.
The mural, entitled “The Pawn Who Became a King,” was commissioned by Destination Crenshaw, an organization that is bringing economic investment and strategic urban planning into the Crenshaw corridor.
The corridor, recognized as the heart of the largest Black community on the West Coast, will feature pocket parks, hundreds of newly planted trees, new streetscapes and landscaping and more than 100 commissioned works of art.
The mural of Williams, painted by artist Patrick Henry Johnson, is part of a project that will help revitalize and beautify the Crenshaw community through job creation, economic development and environmental healing while helping to elevate Black art and culture.
Among the dignitaries paying homage to Williams was 8th District City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who presented a resolution to Johnson for his artistic work.
“It’s important to claim Williams as our local hometown hero,” Harris-Dawson said. “We’re very excited about Destination Crenshaw which will blow away the world with outstanding Black art in our community.”
Destination Crenshaw President Jason Foster said he is excitedly looking forward to the completion of Destination Crenshaw, which is scheduled next year.
Paul Revere Williams was born in downtown Los Angeles in 1894. Williams was orphaned before the age of 4 when his parents, Chester and Lila, died of tuberculosis.
An alumnus of USC, Williams became a trailblazer in the architecture world as the first Black architect to gain international fame. He began designing homes and commercial buildings in the early 1920s and by the time he died in 1980, he had created some 2,500 buildings, most of them in and around Los Angeles.
Williams became a certified architect in California in 1921 and the first certified African-American architect west of the Mississippi. He was the first African-American architect to become a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1923, and in 1957 he was inducted as the AIA’s first Black fellow.
Trenton Whetstone, a longtime resident of South Los Angeles, marveled at the colorful mural, which depicts Williams greeting viewers with an outstretched hand, and said, “I’m excited (by the mural) because when I was a student in high school, I studied architecture. I didn’t know about this great man Williams until after I was an adult.
“I think if I would have known about Williams, there’s no telling where my potential and my passion could have led me,” he said. “So it’s good that erecting this mural in the community will help to inspire our youth and give them something to aspire to be.”
After viewing a PBS series on Williams, Whetstone said, “When his white clients walked into his office and saw that he was Black, Williams knew that they would feel uncomfortable sitting next to him so he would rapidly turn his sketchbook around and start drawing his designs to capture their attention. They quickly saw that Williams’ talent had absolutely nothing to do with his color.’
Some of Williams’ clients included Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and husband Desi Arnaz, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant and Danny Thomas, for whom Williams designed St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis.
Denzel Washington, Ellen DeGeneres and Andy Garcia have lived in homes designed by Williams.
Some of Williams’ other designs included First AME Church and the Golden State Insurance building as well as the iconic Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Asked why he named the Williams mural “The Pawn Who Became a King,”Johnson said, “Williams often used the chessboard in his designs. White people would make him feel insignificant as a pawn on the chessboard, but Williams rose to become a king.”
Shirley Hawkins is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers. She can be reached at metropressnews@gmail.com.
