Welcome and Site Introduction from Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell
Aline Barnsdall gifted Hollyhock House and Barnsdall Park to the City of Los Angeles in 1927. This iconic City-owned landmark is a beloved destination for local and international audiences alike. Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell has spearheaded transformative restoration projects that have brought new life to the park and helped secure Hollyhock House’s place on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2019.
Hollyhock House Virtual Tour
Created in 2019, the Hollyhock House Virtual Accessibility Experience allows you to explore Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House from anywhere. With striking 360° photography, easy navigation, room descriptions, and collection highlights, this virtual tour provides an immersive and inclusive experience for visitors of all abilities.
Wright’s Residence A: Restoration Introduction from Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell
In 2017, Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell secured critical funding to begin the vital restoration of Residence A. Since then, the City has saved this Frank Lloyd Wright-designed guesthouse from almost certain loss. Part of a largely-unbuilt arts complex, Residence A closely relates to many of the unrealized structures and now allows for richer interpretation of Aline Barnsdall’s ambitious commission.
Wright’s Residence A: Restoration Highlights from Phase I
100 years after Frank Lloyd Wright finished construction on Aline Barnsdall’s Residence A guest house, the City of Los Angeles has concluded phase I restoration of this landmark structure. The short videos here highlight key aspects of the phase I work, including the restoration of original windows and walls and the addition of essential structural steel to support the cantilever north balcony and reinforce the living room’s hollow-clay-tile walls. The first video provides an overview from the project team, discussing the home’s significance, what’s been done in phase I, and what work is still to come.
A Garden “Native to the Region of California”
According to Frank Lloyd Wright, “Hollyhock House was to be native to the region of California as the house in the Middle West had been native to Middle West.” With generous support from the Los Angeles Parks Foundation, a native plant garden surrounding Hollyhock House’s west lawn was established in July 2022. It features hyper natives cultivated by the Foundation from plants thriving in nearby Griffith Park. Like Hollyhock House itself, this garden is responsive to its California context, and it celebrates the beauty and sustainability of native plants.
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- Southern Monkey Flower – Diplacus longiflorus Perennial, 1’-3’ x 1’-3’ From the Los Angeles Parks Foundation native plant stock
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- Blue Mountain Lilac – Ceanothus thyrsiflorus ‘Skylark’ Evergreen, 5’-6’ x 4’-6’ From the Los Angeles Parks Foundation native plant stock
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- Thickleaf Yerba Santa – Eriodictyon crassifolium Evergreen/Summer Semi-Deciduous 3’-10’ x 3’-6’ From the Los Angeles Parks Foundation native plant stock
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- California Buckwheat – Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum Evergreen/Summer Semi-Deciduous 3’-5’ x 3’-5’ From the Los Angeles Parks Foundation native plant stock
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- Hybrid Bluecurls – Trichostema ‘Midnight Magic’ Evergreen, 3’-5’ x 3’-5’’ Native hybrid
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- Heart Leaved Keckiella – Keckiella cordifolia Summer Semi-Deciduous, 3’-6’ x 3’-6’ Native
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- Coast Rosemary – Westringia fruticosa Evergreen, 4’-6’ x 6’-12’ Drought-tolerant, non native
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- Germander Sage – Salvia chamaedryoides Semi-Evergreen 1’-2’ x 3’-4’ Drought-tolerant, Mexico native
Hollyhock House’s native garden is designed by GreenTree Landscaping, Inc. GreenTree maintains the Hollyhock House gardens in collaboration with the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department, which cares for all of Barnsdall Park.
FORT: LA presents “Stephen Fry Reads Hollyhock Haiku”
Friends of Residential Treasures: Los Angeles (FORT: LA) featured Hollyhock House as the subject of its summer 2021 Open House project. FORT readers delivered many inspired Hollyhock Haiku, and if the poems weren’t enough, here Stephen Fry reads us the three top picks! You can find all the Hollyhock Haiku at fortla.org.
Playlists: Inspired by Architecture, Tunes from the 20s & More
INSPIRED BY ARCHITECTURE: Hear contemporary musicians find inspiration in the (built) world around them. From acoustic to jazz, rock to pop, enjoy these tunes inspired by architecture and the builders behind some modern masterpieces (including Frank Lloyd Wright, of course). And you can’t miss that this playlist is bookended by two takes on one tune that all Wright fans should know!
Inspired by Architecture playlist on YouTube
TUNES FROM THE TWENTIES: Enjoy this compilation of songs from wide-ranging performers of the 1920s. With Hollyhock House completed in 1921, these songs would have been right at home streaming from the music room’s Victrola and would have been known to Aline Barnsdall and her contemporaries. From Annette Hanshaw to Scott Joplin, Josephine Baker to Ruth Etting, this playlist captures the times with a special focus on the era’s remarkable female vocalists.
Tunes from the Twenties playlist on YouTube
FIT FOR AN ART CLUB FÊTE: Between 1927 and 1942, the California Art Club called Hollyhock House home. Based on archival research, this playlist features songs that were performed at Hollyhock House during those years or are associated with performances there.
Fit for an Art Club Fête playlist on YouTube