Paul Williams: Hancock Park Eclectic English
Author:Philip Ferrato
The classic houses by architect Paul R. Williams (1894-1980) are sought-after in Los Angeles for their combination of elegant spaces and quirky details, especially in the Hancock Park neighborhood. Here’s one that’s on the market.
Hancock Park was developed in the 1920’s and quickly filled with expensive period-style designs by some of the city’s best architects, including a number of homes by Williams. This one, from 1931, is a five-bedroom, 5.5 bath, plus maid’s quarters, an apartment over the garage, and a swimming pool on just over a quarter-acre. Asking $3,149,000, the details include half-timbering, a variety of windows, a few Gothic arches and an intact butler’s pantry. Unlike many houses by Williams, this one’s been sensitively remodeled and retains it’s character- the luxe version of suburban living in the Great Depression. Williams understood how his clients lived (or wanted to live) and that the original charm of English houses was that they were added to over time, with details from Tudor to Georgian to Regency, and he incorporated these in creating stage sets for his clients to live in. This particular stage set’s been on the market for five months- with a price drop of $649,000 from $3,795,000.
Williams worked in many styles; he built a Streamline Moderns house for himself and his family, and had a hugely successful practice that included municipal and commercial projects all over the world, not just lovely houses for the rich. Unfortunately, his office archives were lost in a fire in the early 1990’s. He was also the country’s first black architect, and the University of Memphis has launched the Paul R. Williams Project– and the Art Museum there has just opened the first exhibition of his work. More Paul R. Williams at the Williams-obsessed real estate blog, Curbed LA.
Listing: 332 South McCadden Place, Los Angeles [Redfin]
