When I moved to Los Angeles, we were lucky enough to rent a house we would never have been able to afford from a couple who were unsure of their plans for the property. The house was pedigreed, having been built for an action star in the forties, then eventually owned by a music celebrity and finally this wealthy couple. This house, by Paul Williams, a black architect known as "Hollywood's architect" (along with Tony Duquette and A. Quincy Jones) had rooms so vast that we used the living room as a soccer field for the children and one of the hallways as a living room.The yard had grottos and caves and winding walkways fit for a movie set. We knew we had landed in the LA dream and we cherished it for the short while it lasted. The house itself was classic but the architect was anything but. He was something of a chameleon, designing very contemporary things as well, and most importantly, he had an uncommon sense of civic pride that made him a true asset of Los Angeles which had often lost its architectural way as it grew into the urban sprawl we know today. Many civic projects also bear his imprimatur. Today, on Juneteenth, I celebrate Paul Williams and his legacy.