The pioneering African-American architect Paul R. Williams (1894-1980), responsible for some 2,000 private homes in Southern California and such landmarks as Los Angeles International Airport, the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Los Angeles County Courthouse, was posthumously awarded a Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects in April.

Williams designed two Ontario structures, both still standing: the Robert Norman Williams home, 205 E. 6th St., above, in 1948, and the former Post Office, 125 W. Transit St., below, in 1926. The latter is now used for artist lofts and an art gallery that bears his name. Click on the links above for more on each from the late architect’s website. The home sounds particularly interesting with glass walls offering views of “multiple gardens” and custom Maloof furniture.

For the record, the web page for the 6th Street home mentions a third Ontario commission from 1935, the Alfred E. Thomas residence, with no further explanation. The city planning department and the library’s researcher looked into this for me and can’t find any reference to the home or to Thomas. Perhaps the citation for Ontario was in error. Until we hear otherwise, we’ll assume only the two structures were ever built.

Update: After my inquiry to the Williams Project website, I got this reply from its director: “The Thomas house citation is in Ontario, Canada. We will delete that reference.”

So: There are two Paul R. Williams structures in Ontario — and both are still with us. Who says Ontario doesn’t have any history?

Read about Williams on Wikipedia, his website or the AIA announcement.