EAST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The only publicly accessible Frank Lloyd Wright residence in Los Angeles is once again open for in-person tours. The Hollyhock House, in East Hollywood, reopened Thursday for in-person, self-guided tours after a COVID-induced hiatus.
Open Thursdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., to individuals who purchase tickets in advance, the house was commissioned more than a century ago by the oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, but she never lived there. Instead, she gifted the home and the 12 acres that surround it to the city of Los Angeles in 1927.
Named for Barnsdall’s favorite flower, the Hollyhock House incorporates the tall, cup-shaped flowers as a design theme throughout the property, incorporating it into ornamental stones, fabrics, furniture — even glass.
Visitors to the newly reopened house will see a restored version of the home that, in 2019, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the Hollyhock House was closed, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs restored its massive fireplace, art-glass balcony doors and a garden house.
A balcony cantilevered off the home’s north side that had fallen apart has been re-created, and artful stone work that had long been covered in paint can now be seen as Wright originally intended. Two sofa tables that Wright designed have also been reinstalled.
On Saturday, from 4 to 8 p.m., the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs will host a Hollyhock House Lawn Party. Free and open to the community, the lawn party will include performances by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater and music, as well as light snacks.
The party is a celebration of the city reopening all of the buildings in Barnsdall Park. Besides the Hollyhock House, the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, Barnsdall Arts Center and Barnsdall Junior Arts Center are once again open to the public..