Barnsdall Art Park - The Building - Hollyhock House

Hollyhock House

The Aline Barnsdall Residence, known as Hollyhock House, is the first Los Angeles project of Wright. Built between 1919 and 1921, it represents his earliest efforts to develop a regionally appropriate style of architecture for Southern California.

Taking advantage of the area's mild climate, Hollyhock House is a combination of house and garden. It is a remarkable example of the architect's love of nature and how he incorporated it into his designs. The House takes its name from the favorite flower of Wright's client, oil heiress Aline Barnsdall. At her request, Wright's abstract hollyhock pattern was incorporated into the decoration of the House.

Aline Barnsdall was an unconventional independent woman with a passion for the arts. In 1915 she commissioned Wright to help her develop an innovative theatrical community on the nation's cultural frontier. Selecting a thirty-six acre site in East Hollywood known as Olive Hill, client and architect worked together to develop a plan that included a home for Barnsdall and her young daughter, two secondary residences, a theater, a director's house, a dormitory for actors, studios for artists, shops and a motion picture theater. Because of financial and artistic differences, only the two secondary residences and the Barnsdall home, Hollyhock House, were finally built.

In 1926, Aline Barnsdall gave Hollyhock House and eleven surrounding acres to the City of Los Angeles for use as a public park in memory of her father, Theodore Barnsdall. The City agreed to take the Hollywood estate, but initially didn’t do anything with it probably because of Barnsdall’s restrictions on how the land could be used, as well as her controversial ideals. Part of the ensuing negotiations between the City and Miss Barnsdall included a provision that the California Art Club would be granted a fifteen-year lease (1927-1942) on Hollyhock House to use as their clubhouse. Additional buildings including a modern theatre, an art gallery and studios have been built on the property.

In 2011, the Hollyhock House, along with 20 other Wright-designed buildings in the United States, was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, anticipated for designation in 2014.