Lorenzo D. "Pete" Williams
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Lorenzo D. "Pete" Williams was an architect based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky on September 3, 1923 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1950. Williams’s career began at the firm of Benjamin A. Gingold & Associates in 1959. In 1962, he departed Gingold & Associates and founded an independent firm with James O’Brien called Williams/O'Brien Associates. The Williams/O’Brien firm designed a wide variety of public and private structures across the Twin Cities area, including churches, private residences, and public housing projects. Williams’s Findley Place/Albright Townhomes project in Minneapolis was featured in the Progressive Architecture magazine in 1975 and won AIA Minnesota’s inaugural Citation Award for "provocative projects" in 1978. In 1979, the firm won an AIA Minnesota Honor award for the modest simplicity of the Functional Industries Sheltered Workshop in Cokato (approximately one hour west of Minneapolis).
During the 1960s, Williams served on the Minnesota Social Welfare Task Force, the Government Commission for the Employment of the Handicapped, and the Citizens League Low-Income Housing Committee. Williams also served as the first Black president of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards from 1978 to 1979. Lorenzo “Pete” Williams retired from architecture in 1999 and died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease in Torrance, California on August 26, 2011. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lillian Williams, the first director of the University of Minnesota's Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. His partner at the time of death was local civil rights activist and former University of Minnesota regent Josie R. Johnson. Projects: Luther T. Prince residence (3521 24th Street West, Minneapolis, 1967) Zion Baptist Church (Minneapolis, 1968) Holland Hi-Rise public housing project (Minneapolis, 1970) Robert A. Diamond residence (8701 Westmoreland Lane, Saint Louis Park, 1971) Chateau Student Housing Co-op (Minneapolis, 1973) Findley Place/Albright Townhomes (3015 Pillsbury Avenue, Minneapolis, 1975) Grant/Bethune Park housing project (Minneapolis) Matthews Park housing project (Minneapolis) Functional Industries Sheltered Workshop (Cokato, 1979) |
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Resources:
“Lorenzo D. Williams.” National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, no date. https://www.ncarb.org/about/history-ncarb/past-presidents/lorenzo-d-williams
“Lorenzo D. (Pete) Williams.” Star Tribune, August 31, 2011. https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/13193559/
“Lorenzo Williams mixed business with artistry.” African American Registry, no date. https://aaregistry.org/story/lorenzo-williams-mixed-business-with-artistry/
“Lorenzo D. Williams.” National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, no date. https://www.ncarb.org/about/history-ncarb/past-presidents/lorenzo-d-williams
“Lorenzo D. (Pete) Williams.” Star Tribune, August 31, 2011. https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/13193559/
“Lorenzo Williams mixed business with artistry.” African American Registry, no date. https://aaregistry.org/story/lorenzo-williams-mixed-business-with-artistry/
