HCM #913. A 1927 Spanish Colonial Revival by Paul R. Williams, the architect who designed Los Angeles for nearly everyone but himself.
What is the Blackburn Residence?
The Blackburn Residence at 4791 Cromwell Avenue is a 1927 Spanish Colonial Revival home in Los Feliz, designed by Paul R. Williams, the celebrated architect known as the Architect to the Stars. It was built for Bruce Blackburn, inventor of the roll-up window screen, and was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #913 in 2008.
Paul R. Williams designed some of the most beautiful houses in Los Angeles for people who lived in neighborhoods he was legally barred from buying into. The Blackburn Residence is one of his early Los Feliz works, a 1927 Spanish Colonial Revival on Cromwell Avenue, and it carries the quiet confidence that made Williams the architect a generation of Angelenos wanted for their own homes.
For a buyer or seller of Los Feliz architecture, a Williams provenance is a genuine value story, and the kind of history a Los Feliz realtor learns to recognize. The house is elegant on its own terms, but its deeper significance is who drew it, and what he overcame to sign the drawings.
Who was Paul R. Williams?
Paul R. Williams was one of the most important American architects of the twentieth century and the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects. Over a fifty-year career he designed thousands of buildings across Los Angeles, from movie-star mansions to civic landmarks, earning the nickname the Architect to the Stars.
Williams built his practice inside the constraints of his era. He famously learned to draw upside down so he could sit across the table from clients who did not want to sit beside him, and he designed homes in neighborhoods where racial covenants would have barred him from living. He worked in nearly every style Los Angeles loved, and his Spanish Colonial Revival houses, like the Blackburn Residence, show the same discipline and warmth that run through all of his work. One of the best ways to know him is through his own home, which we tour in our piece on Paul Williams' house in Lafayette Square.
His range was remarkable. Williams designed homes for Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball, contributed to landmarks like the Beverly Hills Hotel and the futuristic Theme Building at LAX, and produced an estimated two thousand houses over his career. In 2017 the American Institute of Architects awarded him its Gold Medal, its highest honor, the first time it went to a Black architect, more than four decades after he designed the Blackburn Residence. That the work has only grown in stature is the whole point of preserving a house like this one.
That biography is the reason the Blackburn Residence matters beyond its address. It sits in the same Los Feliz conversation as the neighborhood's other Spanish Colonial Revival monuments, among them the Durex Model Home and the Welfer House, and it belongs on any tour of Los Feliz architecture and in the wider story of the LA house styles buyers fall for.
What are the house's defining features?
The Blackburn Residence is a refined example of Spanish Colonial Revival, the style that shaped Los Feliz in the 1920s. Its signatures are a red clay tile roof, arched doorways, and a two-story turreted tower, and inside the house carries vaulted ceilings, intricate tile work, wood paneling, and a distinctive triple fireplace.
What sets it apart is the ease Williams brought to the plan. Courtyards and patios pull the interior out into the landscape, so the house lives larger than its footprint and feels connected to the hillside around it. That balance of formal beauty and everyday comfort is exactly what made Williams the architect so many Angelenos wanted for their own homes.
The house also carries a small piece of its owner's story. Bruce Blackburn invented the roll-up window screen, and as a nod to his own work he had roll-up screens installed throughout the home, a personal signature woven into a Paul R. Williams house.
On its Cromwell Avenue lot, the house sits with the composure Williams was known for. The turret anchors the street elevation, the tile roof steps down the slope, and the arched openings frame views out toward the hills. Williams had a gift for making a large house feel gracious rather than grand, scaling rooms to how families actually lived and letting light and courtyards do the work that ornament might otherwise carry. A century of Los Angeles taste has come and gone since 1927, and the Blackburn Residence still reads as calm, generous, and quietly modern in the way the best Spanish Revival houses do.
What does HCM #913 mean for the home today?
Historic-Cultural Monument status is Los Angeles's oldest form of landmark protection. For the Blackburn Residence, the designation recognizes both the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and its authorship by Paul R. Williams, one of the most significant architects the city produced. That status carries real, practical weight for anyone who owns the house or hopes to.
The most tangible benefit is the Mills Act, California's leading incentive for historic preservation, which can cut a landmark owner's property taxes in exchange for a preservation commitment. It is one of the first things a serious buyer asks Debbie Pisaro to model on a designated Los Feliz home, and a central issue when selling a Mills Act or HCM home in Los Feliz.
A Williams provenance is a durable value story. HCM status reviews exterior changes and rewards careful preservation, and on a home by an architect of this stature that scrutiny protects value rather than limiting it.
This is the kind of house Debbie Pisaro is built to represent. She works these homes as an architectural homes specialist across the east side. Her brokerage, Coastline 840, is an independent boutique built on the belief that small teams outperform the big-box brokerages. She tells the story of why she built it on the Coastline 840 blog.
If you own an architectural home in Los Feliz and are weighing a sale, the first step is a real number grounded in current comps, which you can request through a private Los Feliz home valuation. If you would rather buy one, a Los Feliz realtor who works these blocks keeps a quiet list of off-market Los Feliz homes that never reach the open market. Either way, the best real estate agent in Los Feliz for architectural property is where the search should start. For the full neighborhood, our Los Feliz HCM guide maps every designated home.
Blackburn Residence questions, answered
Where is the Blackburn Residence in Los Feliz?
The Blackburn Residence stands at 4791 Cromwell Avenue in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CA 90027, in the hills above Los Feliz Boulevard. It is a private residence rather than a museum, so it is best appreciated from the public street, in keeping with the quiet character of the neighborhood.
Who was Paul R. Williams, the architect?
Paul R. Williams was one of the most important American architects of the twentieth century and the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects. Known as the Architect to the Stars, he designed thousands of Los Angeles buildings, from celebrity homes to civic landmarks, over a career of roughly fifty years.
Why is the Blackburn Residence a Historic-Cultural Monument?
The City of Los Angeles designated the Blackburn Residence as Historic-Cultural Monument #913 in 2008, recognizing both its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and its authorship by Paul R. Williams. The designation protects the home's exterior character and marks its place in the city's architectural history.
What style is the Blackburn Residence?
It is Spanish Colonial Revival, the dominant Los Feliz style of the 1920s. The house shows the era's signatures, including a red clay tile roof, arched doorways, and a two-story turreted tower, along with vaulted ceilings, intricate tile work, wood paneling, and a distinctive triple fireplace inside.
Who was Bruce Blackburn?
Bruce Blackburn was the original owner of the house and the inventor of the roll-up window screen. As a nod to his own work, he had roll-up screens installed throughout the home, a personal signature threaded into a house designed by Paul R. Williams.
Can the Blackburn Residence qualify for the Mills Act?
As a designated Historic-Cultural Monument, the house is generally eligible to apply for a Mills Act contract, which can significantly lower property taxes in exchange for a preservation commitment. Eligibility and the exact savings depend on the property and the current program terms, so any buyer should verify the specifics before relying on them.
Who is a good Los Feliz real estate agent for architectural homes?
Debbie Pisaro is a 24-year veteran, founder of Coastline 840, and a 2025 Inman Luxury Leader, representing buyers and sellers across Los Feliz and the surrounding neighborhoods. She specializes in architectural, historic, and Historic-Cultural Monument homes, and she works the Los Feliz market street by street rather than from a distance.
Are there other Paul R. Williams homes in the area?
Yes. Paul R. Williams designed across Los Angeles for decades, from Flintridge and Hollywood to the Westside and beyond, in nearly every style the city favored. The Blackburn Residence is one of his Los Feliz works, and his broader portfolio is a touchstone for buyers who value architectural provenance.
Is the Blackburn Residence for sale?
It is a private home and not typically on the market. If you are hoping to buy an architectural or landmark home in Los Feliz, including quiet off-market opportunities, that is a search best run with an agent who specializes in this narrow niche of the market.
Talk to Debbie
Twenty-four years of Los Angeles luxury real estate, with a specialty in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes.
debbie@coastline840.com
DRE #01369110 · 160 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Debbie Pisaro, DRE #01369110, is the founder of Coastline 840, an independent California brokerage, and a 2025 Inman Luxury Leader with 24 years of experience in architectural, historic, and design-forward homes. She writes about California real estate at debbiepisaro.com, losfelizliving.com, and coastline840.com. Published July 2026.
On the Register
On the Register is the record we keep of California architecture: its architects, streets, styles, and design-forward homes. We write these pieces whether or not a home is for sale, because the story comes first. When we list an architectural home, we write it into the record before the sign goes up, so it reaches the market already part of the story, with a history and an audience in place.
© 2026 Debbie Pisaro, Coastline 840 · ontheregister.com