Advertisement

Much of the Bloom Now Gone From Wright-Designed Hollyhock House

Share
United Press International

Frank Lloyd Wright died in 1959, but his architectural designs have survived in Los Angeles--although for some of them, like Hollyhock House in Barnsdall Park, the future is tenuous.

Wright, America’s most famous architect and, arguably, its most controversial, designed the house for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall in 1919.

Completed in 1921, it was the first house designed by Wright in Los Angeles. Five years later, Barnsdall donated the house, 11 acres of land and two guest houses to the city of Los Angeles for use as a cultural and recreation center.

Advertisement

Good Times and Bad

Since then, the house at 4808 Hollywood Blvd. has seen good times and bad.

The primary stipulation the city made when it first leased out the property was that it be kept in good condition. This, however, has not turned out to be the case.

In 1942, the city boarded up Hollyhock House because of its poor condition, and by 1946 it was on the verge of demolishing it when the house underwent its first major renovation.

From 1958 until 1974, when the city restored Hollyhock House to its original grandeur, the Parks and Recreation Department administered the property. The $500,000 project was completed in 1976, and Hollyhock House and its adjoining grounds were opened to the public.

Virginia Kazor, curator of Hollyhock House, said the job of upkeep is never finished. Many of the problems stem from the high maintenance cost of Frank Lloyd Wright houses.

“The upkeep on these houses is like upkeep on the Golden Gate Bridge,” she said.

Needs Repairs

“Those who ran the house at first did not have the money to keep it up, and so it fell into a state of disrepair,” she said. “Now it’s happening again. The house needs caulking, the roof needs to be repaired and the exterior of the building needs painting.”

In order to help defray maintenance costs, the city’s Cultural Affairs Department and Friends of Hollyhock House sponsored the First Annual Hollyhock Croquet Classic on Aug. 25.

Advertisement

The croquet classic was developed by the Friends of Hollyhock House not only as a means of raising money but also so that the public could see the house.

“After all, it’s theirs,” Kazor said. “I hope that we hold the event every year, but a lot will depend on the public’s response.”

The idea of developing Hollyhock as a cultural center was one of Aline Barnsdall’s dreams, Kazor added. But it was not until 1974, when the city initiated the second major renovation and began to develop the property as an arts center, that her dream began to be realized.

Hollyhock Motif

Barnsdall named Hollyhock House after her favorite flower, Kazor said. The hollyhock motif appears in the concrete ornamental band on the exterior of the house, in concrete ornaments over the windows and doors and in some of the furniture.

Hollyhock was Wright’s largest and most elaborate commission in the Los Angeles area, Kazor said. The house reflects Wright’s desire for housing that would give both a sense of shelter and a sense of space.

The house, influenced by Mayan architecture, was designed to take advantage of Southern California’s climate. The exterior reflects the interior space. Even the roof spaces are meant to be used as living areas.

Advertisement

As far as is known, it is the only Frank Lloyd Wright house owned by a city in the United States, although there are others owned by states, Kazor said.

The park administered by the city contains Hollyhock House and three other buildings.

Theater, Art Gallery

One building has a 300-seat theater and a 10,000-square-foot art gallery that is the scene of changing art shows. It was completed in 1973. Another structure houses a children’s art classroom and was one of the original buildings on the property. A third building contains classrooms and has been in continuous use since 1927--ever since the city first began to administer the property.

The main house, Kazor said, is used by city officials for meetings and arts-related activities. Mayor Tom Bradley recently hosted a meeting of the Administrative Board of the Assn. of Universities, attended by representatives of universities throughout the world.

Commenting on the house in his autobiography, Frank Lloyd Wright said:

“Individuality is the most precious thing in life, after all--isn’t it? An honest democracy must believe that it is.

“In any expression of the human spirit it is principle, manifest as character, that alone endures. Individuality is the true property of character. Hollyhock House is such a house.”

Advertisement