The Wright Virtual Tour to See: Hollyhock House

Los Angeles is rich with architectural history, and we have plenty of places to choose from to get our cultural and visual fill. But since many of our favorite places have temporarily closed, I’ve been searching around online for virtual tours of interesting architecture. One well-done tour is of the Hollyhock House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and located at the Barnsdall Art Park on Hollywood Blvd.

Built between 1919 and 1921, Hollyhock House was the first project in Los Angeles for Wright who was commissioned by Aline Barnsdall, a wealthy oil heiress, nonconformist, and experimental theatre enthusiast. She envisioned an artists’ complex on Olive Hill complete with artist residences, a large theatre, cinema, shops, and her personal home—Barnsdall requested Wright incorporate her favorite flower, the hollyhock, into the design.

Wright’s son Lloyd Wright managed the construction, and a young architect Rudolf Schindler was brought on to help finish the home. However, the clash between Aline Barnsdall and Frank Lloyd Wright led to only three buildings being constructed, and in 1927 Barnsdall donated the structures and the surrounding 11 acres to the City of Los Angeles to be used strictly for art purposes.

After many years and extensive renovations, Hollyhock House was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2007 and earned a Conservancy Preservation Award in 2015. And in July 2019, Hollyhock House joined the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list, which consists of places deemed culturally and physically significant on an international scale.

To learn more about Wright’s departure from his Prairie style and into Mayan Revival specifically for Hollyhock House, I highly recommend going to this virtual tour by visiting, hollyhockhousevirtual.org/home. Be sure to click on the speaker and + symbol icons to listen and have a virtual docent guide you through the home.