Take a Peek Inside the Newly Renovated Hollyhock House

Starting today, visitors will have the opportunity to revisit Frank Lloyd Wright’s famed Hollyhock House after a four-year-long, multimillion-dollar restoration. The Los Angeles icon has been described as the harbinger of California modernism. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the mayor and a city council member officially reopens the Hollyhock House, it will be open at 4 p.m. for 24 hours to start. Visitors have the opportunity to walk through the house free of charge, and photographs will be allowed for one night only. The following week the house will be open for paid tours during regular operating hours.

Visit the Hollyhock House: Hollyhock House Tours

The Hollyhock House takes its name from the home’s original owner’s (Pennsylvania oil heiress Aline Barnsdall’s) love of the flower, and it features hollyhock motifs throughout the 17-room house. This house, Wright’s first in Los Angeles, is done in the then-new “California romanza” architectural style; “romanza” is a musical term meaning “the freedom to make one’s own form.” The home dominates the surrounding landscape and is built around a central courtyard with many indoor-outdoor connections and views of the Hollywood Hills and Los Angeles basin.

Barnsdall hired Wright to build a theater complex where she could put on avant-garde plays, but the project evolved to include her house in a larger art complex. Construction began in 1919, but Barnsdall fired Wright from the job in 1921, citing ballooning costs as cause for dismissal. Architect Rudolph Schindler moved from Chicago to California to oversee the project’s completion.


Despite its enduring architectural significance, Barnsdall wasn’t satisfied. She donated it, along with surrounding land, to the city of Los Angeles in 1927 to be used as a public art park, and never lived there. Now the California modernism harbinger and surrounding buildings comprise the Barnsdall Art Park; it’s a national historic landmark and has been nominated by the United States for Unesco’s World Heritage List.

Shown: The home’s original block fireplace








The house has served different uses during its nearly 90 years as a city-owned building, and it became a permanent museum after a city-sponsored renovation in 1974. The just-completed $4.4 million renovation has returned the house to its original grandeur, inviting guests to experience what the house looked like when it was originally completed. Construction focused on fixing leaking roofs and restoring floors, windows, doors and original paint colors, among other details.

Visiting info: Open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m; 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles 90027; (323) 913-4031. More info

URL: Take a Peek Inside the Newly Renovated Hollyhock House http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-25598.html