Denzel Washington and his wife, Pauletta, bought a 1940 Colonial Revival mansion in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, for $1.1 million in 1988. They sold it in 2000 for $1.9 million to television writer and producer Brenda Hampton, who renovated it and sold it in 2019 for $4.445 million. The current owner hasn’t been publicly identified.
The price jump isn’t the real story. The house was designed by Paul Revere Williams, a pioneering Black architect who, because of racist housing rules, was barred from living in many of the neighborhoods where his own homes stood.
Who designed Denzel Washington’s former home?
Paul Revere Williams was one of the most celebrated architects in Los Angeles history. He designed homes for Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Cary Grant, along with churches, public buildings and the Theme Building at LAX. By the time he died in 1980, he had created thousands of structures.
He did it while working around constant racism. Williams taught himself to draw upside down so white clients who didn’t want to sit next to a Black man could sit across the table and watch his sketches appear right side up. He often kept his hands behind his back so no one would feel pressured to shake his hand.
Could Paul Revere Williams live in the homes he designed?
Often, no. Many of the neighborhoods where his homes stood were closed to him because of racially restrictive covenants written into property deeds. Some deeds barred Black people from even spending the night. Those rules didn’t begin to crumble until Supreme Court rulings in 1948 and 1953.
Williams believed that every home he couldn’t buy was still opening a door for the next generation. Decades later, one of those doors swung open for one of the most respected Black actors in Hollywood history.
What does Denzel Washington’s former home look like?
The two story house covers about 6,300 square feet on a double lot of more than half an acre. It kept much of its 1940s character, including the original moldings, built in cabinetry, picture windows and separate fireplaces in the living and family rooms. Outside, there are landscaped gardens, a pool with a cabana, a koi pond and a detached guest house.
Which Hollywood stars lived in the house before Denzel Washington?
Williams designed the home for comedian and actor Leon Errol. Oscar winner William Holden and his wife, actress Brenda Marshall, lived there from 1947 to 1959. In 1952, they hosted the wedding reception for Ronald and Nancy Reagan on the property.
Denzel Washinton’s own years there lined up with his rise. He bought the house the year before Glory came out and won his first Oscar for it while living there. He also made Malcolm X during that stretch. Denzel Washington sold the house in 2000, two years before Training Day earned him the best actor Oscar.
How much has the home’s value grown?
The 2019 sale was about four times what Denzel Washington paid in 1988, and $2.545 million more than Hampton paid in 2000. Her renovation likely played a role, though reports don’t break down how much.
A Black architect once drew this house upside down so his clients could see it right side up. About half a century later, a Black actor held the keys while he became a legend. That’s the kind of door Williams spent his whole career trying to open.
