WELCOME TO HOLLYHOCK HOUSEA significant part of Los Angeles’ storied architectural history, Hollyhock House - a National Historic Landmark - is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s magnificent masterpieces.

It boasts a lyrical and poetic style of architecture Wright called a Romanza, co-opting a musical term meaning “freedom to make one’s own form,” which uniquely suited the artistic temperament of both client and architect.

ALINE BARNSDALL, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, AND HOLLYHOCK HOUSE

The storied history of Hollyhock House begins with Aline Barnsdall, a Pennsylvanian oil heiress interested in producing theater in her own venue. Purchasing a 36-acre site in Hollywood known as Olive Hill in 1919, Barnsdall commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build a theater where she could produce avant-garde plays. Soon after, the project morphed into creating a performing arts complex that included her residence. Construction on the project began in 1919 and ended in 1921 when Barnsdall fired Wright, citing costs as the primary reason for the contract’s termination. Only three structures of the grand initiative were completed; Hollyhock House and two guest houses - Residences “A” (awaiting restoration) and “B” (razed in 1954).

A philanthropist, art collector, political radical, and single parent by choice, Barnsdall deeded the land now known as Barnsdall Park and its Frank Lloyd Wright-designed structures to the City of Los Angeles in 1927. A memorial to her late father, Theodore Barnsdall, Aline’s gift was to provide Angelenos a place for the appreciation of art and architecture. In doing so, she gave an arts center to the community that incorporated and preserved Hollyhock House as a crucial component. Her pioneering vision was instrumental in creating what later became the California Modernism movement and helped grow the careers of notable architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolph Schindler, and Richard Neutra.

Over the years the house has served various purposes, including a fifteen-year run as the headquarters of the California Art Club beginning in 1927. A renovation by the architect’s son, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr., for Dorothy Clune Murray’s Olive Hill Foundation (1946 - 48) repaired the house with significant alterations. After a major restoration by the City of Los Angeles (1974 - 76) it became a public house museum. It was among the first structures to be designated as a historic-cultural monument by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission in 1963.

In 2007, Hollyhock House became a National Historic Landmark. From 2008 through 2014, the house underwent a historic $4 million restoration with a $1,935,000 grant from the California Cultural and Historic Endowment, $1,935,000 in matching funds from the City of Los Angeles, and a $489,000 Save America’s Treasures grant from the National Park Service. As of 2015, Hollyhock House is on the tentative list of the first modern architecture nominations from the United States to the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List.

Hollyhock House is operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA). DCA provides educational programming, conservation services, and individual and group tours of this historic site that offer a window into Aline Barnsdall’s life and her artistic vision, in addition to her extraordinary partnership with one of the United States’ greatest architects.

Hollyhock House is enshrined in the pantheon of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work and has been named one of the most significant structures of the 20th century by the American Institute of Architects. As America’s best-known architect, historians divided Wright’s career into five periods that ended with his death at age 91. Hollyhock House is the first house of Wright’s second period and his first residence in Southern California.

Named for Barnsdall’s favorite flower, the Hollyhock is incorporated throughout the design scheme of the residence. The exterior frieze of abstract hollyhocks provides ornamentation and emphasizes the horizontal lines of the architecture. While the home references a number of exotic architectural styles, Wright incorporated Mesoamerican Pueblo and hacienda traditions to create a temple style architecture that dominates its site.

Hollyhock House marks Wright’s experimentation with a new use of interior space. The house is a combination of interior and exterior living space; all major interior rooms either have an exterior counterpart or direct access to the exterior. His novel approach to interior space influenced Rudolph Schindler, Wright’s project manager for Hollyhock House, and later his friend, Richard Neutra.

Signature Frank Lloyd Wright features include an obscured entrance approached through a long corridor that narrows towards massive cast concrete doors each weighing approximately 250 pounds. The house is also one of his last residences to have a comprehensive set of art glass windows. Wright also designed furniture for Hollyhock House; the original dining room table and chairs are on view, and the living room is furnished with reproduction furniture and carpet.

HOLLYHOCK HOUSE GENERAL INFORMATION

HOURS OF OPERATIONVisiting hours are Thursday through Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

ADMISSIONGeneral admission is $7.

Admission for students and seniors with identification is $3.

Admission for children under 12 when accompanied by a paying adult is free.

TOURS“Walk Wright In” regular tours are available Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Special arrangements may be made for docent-led tours, group tours, guided tours, and other engagements by calling 323.913.4031.

As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities.

CONTACT INFORMATIONHOLLYHOCK HOUSEBarnsdall Park4800 Hollywood BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90027TEL 323.913.4030FAX 323.913.4032WEB barnsdall.org

201 North Figueroa Street, Suite 1400Los Angeles, CA 90012 USA213.202.5500 TEL

213.202.5513 FAX

culturela.org WEB

Photography: Joshua White / JWPictures.com