Back to Show
Lost LA
Paul R. Williams – Architect for the Masses
Best known for his residential projects with Hollywood's elite, Paul R. Williams nevertheless sought to provide affordable design to L.A.'s growing population. Appointed to the National Board of Municipal Housing in 1940, Williams began his journey into the world of public housing, where his eye for design and keen understanding of the needs of the people shone in homes that still stand today. Listen to UCLA historian Eric Avila as he explains the dynamics of affordable housing in Los Angeles and Paul R. Williams' civic aspirations.
Related
Support Provided By
Season
26:40
Tiki culture isn’t a Polynesian import — it’s a Hollywood creation.
26:49
Archives reveal the “forgotten plague” that shaped Southern California: tuberculosis.
26:50
Visit Hollywood Forever, Evergreen and Forest Lawn, where L.A. reinvented the cemetery.
26:40
The hiker-activists who led Angelenos into their hills and onto the trails.
26:39
How Filipino Americans in Southern California are making their heritage more visible.
26:47
Iconic fast-food chains from McDonald’s to Taco Bell were born in SoCal.
26:37
After internment camps, Japanese Americans made L.A.'s Crenshaw neighborhood their home.
26:04
During WWII, L.A. became a sanctuary for Europe’s accomplished artists and intellectuals.
26:46
Dig deep into Southern California’s past to reveal lessons for our climate-changed future.
26:41
Explore a forgotten age when winemaking was Southern California’s principal industry.
26:46
Why did Los Angeles dismantle one of the greatest rail transit systems in the nation?
26:40
Explore the lasting impact of the Shindana Toy Company, created out of the need for community empowerment following the 1965 Watts uprising, whose ethnically correct black dolls forever changed the American doll industry.