Hollyhock House re-opens, offers free tours through Saturday

After three years of renovations, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Hollyhock House reopened Friday, with a free 24-hour public viewing event lasting until Saturday at 4 p.m.

Architecture buffs and neophytes alike will be able to tour Hollyhock House during the event that started at 4 p.m. Friday. The admission fees of $7 for adults and $3 for students were waived for the event.

After tomorrow, paid self-guided tours will be available during the normal hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and other city officials took part in a ribbon-cutting event at the start of today’s public viewing.

“Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House is a crown jewel of Los Angeles architecture,” Garcetti said. “Restoring this landmark to its original glory is a great example of how the city can preserve its unique history while providing Angelenos access to art in everyday places.”

The Hollyhock House — the first building that Wright built in Los Angeles — is located in Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood and was built between 1919 and 1921 under a commission by oil heiress Aline Barnsdall.

She donated the house to the city in 1927, and the building has operated as a museum.

It closed in 2008 for renovations, which included restored floors, windows, doors, decorative molding and paint. The house is designed in a style known as California Romanza, and features decorative patterns in the shape of Barnsdall’s favorite flower, the hollyhock.

The Hollyhock House, already designated a National Historic Landmark, was one of 10 American buildings nominated recently by the U.S. for inclusion on the World Heritage List, which recognizes the most significant cultural and natural sites on Earth.

The nominations will be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in the summer of 2016.

—City News Service