Emerson Stewart Williams, FAIA (November 15, 1909 – September 10, 2005) was a prolific
Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
-based
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
whose distinctive
modernist
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
buildings, in the
Mid-century modern style, significantly shaped the
Coachella Valley's architectural landscape and legacy.
History
E. Stewart Williams's father, Harry Williams, was a well-respected architect originally based in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
best known for designing the offices of National Cash Register-
NCR. In 1934 Julia Carnell, whose husband was the comptroller of NCR, decided that a commercial development in Palm Springs, where she wintered, would be a good investment and brought Harry Williams to Palm Springs to design the historic
La Plaza Shopping Center. Harry Williams stayed on in the city afterward, opening his own architectural practice, which was later joined by E. Stewart's younger brother, Roger, also an architect.
E. Stewart Williams completed his undergraduate studies at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
in 1932 and was elected to the
Sphinx Head Society
The Sphinx Head Society is the oldest senior honor society at Cornell University. Sphinx Head recognizes Cornell senior men and women who have demonstrated respectable strength of character on top of a dedication to leadership and service at Corn ...
. Williams then taught at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
from 1934 to 1938. In 1938 Williams traveled through northern Europe and he met a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
woman on the trip, who he would marry two years later after a prolonged separation due to the war. Upon returning he worked in
Raymond Loewy's office. In Loewy's office Williams' responsibilities included projects for the
1939 New York World's Fair, and the
Lord and Taylor
Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as a ...
department store in
Manhasset
Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...
,
Long Island in 1941, one of the first large suburban branches of a
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
to be built.
In 1941 Williams began working in his father's Dayton, Ohio office on defense-related projects. By 1943 E. Stewart Williams was involved in the building of ships at the
Bechtel Marin County facility in
Sausalito, California
Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sausalito's ...
, followed by a stint at
Mare Island
Mare Island ( Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the ...
in the
San Francisco Bay with the Navy.
A resident of
Palm Springs, California, Williams had a Golden Palm Star on the
Palm Springs Walk of Stars
The Palm Springs Walk of Stars is a walk of fame in downtown Palm Springs, California, where "Golden Palm Stars", honoring various people who have lived in the greater Palm Springs area, are embedded in the sidewalk pavement. The walk includes po ...
dedicated to him in 2008. Williams died in 2005 and is buried in the
Welwood Murray Cemetery in Palm Springs.
Palm Springs era
In 1946 Williams joined his father and brother in their Palm Springs practice, forming the 'Williams, Williams, & Williams' firm.
Sinatra residence
The 'Williams, Williams, & Williams' firm's first residential commission was a house for
Frank Sinatra. Williams said that on May 1, 1947 Sinatra wandered into their office eating an ice cream cone and stating that he wanted a house built by Christmas, meaning Williams had roughly only three months to design it and another three months to build it. Sinatra's other requirement was that it be a
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
-style mansion, a style neither aesthetically nor functionally suited to the desert.
Williams ended up presenting Sinatra two designs, one in the style he requested, and the other a low-lying, modern design, well integrated into the surrounding landscape and functionally appropriate to the climate. Luckily for all Sinatra chose the latter.
Though a relatively conservative design in comparison to the works of other notable modernist architects then designing and building in the area, particularly
Richard Neutra and
Albert Frey, the house would become an architectural trend-setter (being the first "shed roof" house in the desert) and serve as model of "hipness" in the desert community, thought this was perhaps as much due to its occupant as to its design. Roger Williams in a much later interview spoke about Sinatra's final choice of a modern design: "I'm so glad. We'd
Williams, Williams, & Williams'have been ruined if we'd been forced to build Georgian in the desert."
Other projects
What followed were an unbroken string of commissions, large and small, institutional and private, commercial and residential that made the practice of Williams, Williams, & Williams, and in particular E. Stewart Williams, one those most fecund practices and architects in the region. Williams' father died in 1957, and John Porter Clark joined the practice in the 1960s.
Among those significant commissions was one for a house for the
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
hotel owners William and Marjorie Edris. Having purchased a large lot in Palm Springs, the Edris' commissioned Williams as both the architect and the contractor for the job. Williams' design was more sophisticated and integrated into its
Colorado Desert habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
surroundings than the earlier Sinatra house. The Edris House, as it is now known, remains largely unchanged, containing many of the original Williams' designed fixtures and details, and is protected from alteration since 2004 by being designated a 'Historic Building' by the Palm Springs City Council.
Significant and Modern Buildings
* 1946 Potter Building - Palm Springs, California
* 1947
Sinatra House, "Twin Palms" - Palm Springs, California
* 1949 The Colony: a Studio Apartment group - Palm Springs, California
* 1950 Maceo House, Galveston, Texas.
* 1952 Oasis Building - Palm Springs, California
* 1952 Temple Isaiah - Palm Springs, California
* 1954
Edris House - Palm Springs, California
* 1955 Coachella Savings and Loan - Palm Springs, California
* 1955
Koerner House - Palm Springs, California
* 1956
Williams House - Palm Springs, California
* 1957
Kenaston House, - Rancho Mirage, California
[ ]
* 1958 Sutter House - Palm Springs, California (Photography by Julius Shulman, 1960; original interiors by
Arthur Elrod)
* 1960
Palm Springs Unified School District Educational Administrative Center - Palm Springs, California
* 1960
Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan Association
Santa Fe Federal Savings and Loan Association, also known as American Savings and the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture & Design Center/Edwards Harris Pavilion, is a historic building located in Palm Springs, California. The building is a fine e ...
- Palm Springs, California
* 1961
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Mountain Station,
Mount San Jacinto State Park, above Palm Springs, California
* 1961
Coachella Savings and Loan (II) - Palm Springs, California
* 1972
Crafton Hills College
Crafton Hills College (CHC) is a public community college in Yucaipa, California. CHC is part of the California Community College system. It offers associate degrees and career and technical certificates. Since its opening in 1972, more than 200 ...
-
Yucaipa, California
Yucaipa ( Serrano: ''Yukaipa't'') is a city located east of San Bernardino, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 51,367 at the 2010 census, up from 41,207 at the 2000 census. According to San Bernardino Coun ...
* 1976
Palm Springs Desert Museum - Palm Springs, California
* 1986 Erik and Sidney Williams House, 1986 - 800 West Stevens Road, Palm Springs
References
Books and sources
* ''Palm Springs Modern'' by Adele Cygelman. 1999. Rizzoli International Press. 191 pages
* ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' by Andrea Truppin. Modernism magazine. Spring 2005 issue
* ''Palm Springs Weekend'' by Alan Hess and Andrew Danish. 2001. Chronicle Books. 180 pages
* "Cedar Lawn Historic District, Galveston, Texas," National Register of Historic Places nomination, 2002.
External links
E. Stewart Williams bio and photos- The Palm Springs Modern Committee website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, E. Stewart
Modernist architects from the United States
E. Stewart Williams buildings
1909 births
2005 deaths
Architects from California
Burials at Welwood Murray Cemetery
Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni
Modernist architecture in California
Artists from Palm Springs, California
20th-century American architects