Hollyhock House
The Hollyhock is an iconic structure that is part of the Barnsdall Arts Park run and cared for by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs on an arts campus which is also 10,000 sq. ft gallery, 299 seat theatre, and an art center for children and adults.
The house was commissioned by Aline Barnsdall, an oil heiress, as her personal home in 1919 and designed by well-known architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Aline first envisioned the house as one part of a larger campus to support avant-garde theatre. Her original dream was not realized and she later donated 12 of the 36 acres she had purchased on this hilltop in East Hollywood to the City of Los Angeles. Today the city honors her legacy, having built a public art park that includes many of the activities she first envisioned.
Community
The Hollyhock House is known for setting a foundation for California modernist architecture and influencing other known architects like Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra. The name of the home come from Aline’s favorite flower, the hollyhock which Wright abstracted into a geometric design that he incorporated into many elements of the design. Beginning in 2010 the house was restored bringing to life many of the details that had become invisible in the design.
Today the house has received both the National Historic Landmark designation, as well as a being considered a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- Landmark
- Heritage
- Preservation
- Historic
- Education
Media
The other thing about Los Angeles and this house is that it is the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in LA open to the public. That it is meant to be used by the public as a house museum where they can learn about Wright, where they can discover or rediscover Wright, and also where they can discover some of the interesting and intricate details that we have been able to restore in our last restoration project - Jeffrey Herr, Curator
