In California, Hollyhock House was architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s first Los Angeles commission built between 1918 and 1921. Now the home turned museum could face closure amid cuts happening across the city.
On 21 April the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, put forward a $13.9 billion budget aiming to close a $1 billion deficit which happened due to the damage costs and tragic aftermath from the recent fires across the city. The plan includes cutting more than 1,600 city employees.
Why Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House is under threat
Hollyhock House, which is run by the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs, is currently staffed with two employees. If cuts go ahead then the property would be inoperable, therefore subsequently compromising the building’s UNESCO status.
Concerned about the cuts are The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, who have said, ‘The eyes of the world are on the City of Los Angeles. We hope they will choose to properly steward this incredible piece of our global cultural heritage.’
In 2019, Hollyhock House became the city’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, joining seven other Wright sites. Today it is owned by the City of Los Angeles and operated by the Department of Cultural Affairs.
The residence was designed for Aline Barnsdall, an American oil heiress, with plans to make Hollyhock a centrepiece of a 36-acre arts complex, which was only partially realised. In 1927 Barnsdall donated it to the city. The building was an ode to the scenic beauty of its context, and a beacon of California Modernism.
The building was built in Hollywood, in line with when the movie industry was emerging and becoming established in the city. Although offering Art Deco touches, the house’s facade nods to ancient Meso-America with a pyramid-like shape and flat top. Hollyhock house belongs within its movie star environment, effortlessly captivating and demanding attention.
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