Hollyhock House and Barnsdall Art Park: Frank Lloyd Wright's First Los Angeles Home

Aline Barnsdall, an oil heiress, hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for her on Olive Hill. She pictured it as the centerpiece of a larger arts complex on the hill, a place for theatre and for artists to live and work.

Barnsdall asked Wright to bring her favorite flower, the hollyhock, into the design. He made the flower the house's decorative motif, and the house took its name from it. Look for it as you walk around the outside.

Wright called the design "California Romanza." He borrowed the phrase from music, where it means the freedom to make one's own form. Architecture writers often describe the house as an early example of the Mayan Revival style.

Two young architects helped finish it. Wright's son, Lloyd Wright, and Wright's assistant, R.M. Schindler, oversaw the work as it was completed in 1921. Both became influential architects in Los Angeles.

The full arts complex Barnsdall imagined was never built. In 1927 she gave the house and the land around it to the City of Los Angeles for use as an art park. That gift is Barnsdall Art Park today.

The house has been repaired and restored several times since. The 1994 Northridge earthquake damaged it, and a long restoration followed. Hollyhock House reopened to the public in February 2015.

In July 2019, UNESCO added Hollyhock House to the World Heritage List as one of eight buildings in "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright." It was the first World Heritage Site in Los Angeles.

The house carries other honors too. The City of Los Angeles named it a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1963. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2007.

Hollyhock House shares the hilltop with several of the city's arts spaces. The park is home to the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, and the Barnsdall Art Center and Junior Arts Center.

The Barnsdall Art Park Foundation, a nonprofit started in 2003, supports the park and its programs. Its events include Summer Wine Nights. Picnics are welcome on the park grounds, and the park closes at 10 p.m. each night.

1. Check the days and book ahead. The house is open only a few days a week, and visits are limited in size. The house's own visit page at hollyhockhouse.org lists current days, tour types and ticket prices, and it strongly recommends booking in advance.
2. Pick your visit. The house offers self-guided admission with docents on hand to answer questions. Some days also offer a short docent-led tour of the outside.
3. Get there. Enter the park at 4800 Hollywood Boulevard, just west of Vermont Avenue. Parking in the park is free but very limited, at the bottom of the hill and along the top. The Metro B Line stops at Vermont and Sunset, close by.
4. Dress for the floors. The house asks for flat or broad-heeled shoes and provides shoe covers.
5. Leave time for the park. Bring lunch to eat on the grounds, since food is not allowed inside the house.

• Showing up on a closed day. The house is closed several days each week and on some holidays. Check its visit page the day you go.
• Skipping the advance ticket. Visits are capped. Standby tickets may be offered on site, but they are not guaranteed.
• Bringing a big bag or stroller inside. Neither is allowed in the house.
• Planning to film. Photos without flash are allowed, but filming is not.
• Not asking about access. The house has two stories, and many first-floor rooms have steps. There is a ramp at the entrance, and the house offers a virtual 360-degree tour online.

Hollyhock House pairs well with the rest of the neighborhood's history. Read about Griffith Observatory above Los Feliz, the Greek Theatre in Griffith Park and the Vista Theatre on Sunset Drive, or see our guide to free things to do in Los Feliz. For this week's art nights, talks and markets, check the Los Feliz events calendar. If you host an event nearby, you can add your event for free.

Los Feliz Events is a free community calendar for Los Feliz, Los Angeles, from Rooster Homes™, the Los Angeles real estate brokerage led by Brandon S. Arlington and Sarah Arlington. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Los Feliz, you can contact Rooster Homes. We are always glad to talk about the neighborhood.