The living room is something special. Airy, high ceilings with a large skylight, carpets featuring the house’s signature “insignia,” beautiful display pieces framing the sofas, and the fireplace is one of the most stunning I’ve ever seen. The rest of the house is fine, but the living room… yeah, it’s incredible.

In 1919, oil heiress, socialite, and activist Aline Barnsdall hired architect Frank Lloyd Wright to construct a home for her and her daughter on a hill in Los Angeles, just off of Hollywood Boulevard. (The project, called Olive Hill, was supposed to also feature an arts and theatre complex, but the larger vision wouldn’t be completed until much later, and under very different circumstances.) Wright had recently arrived in Los Angeles, and while he designed the house, he didn’t personally supervise much of the work, as he was busy with projects in Japan at the time.

By 1921, Aline Barnsdall had fired Frank Lloyd Wright from what would become Hollyhock House (named for Barnsdall’s favorite flower), after years of cost overages and personality clashes, highlighted by leaky ceilings and significant water damage. Barnsdall would never fully live in the home, preferring life in luxury hotels or traveling, and in 1927 she donated it to the city of Los Angeles.

It is the city that would see the larger vision realized as Barnsdall Art Park, and oversee several rounds of restoration that today allow visitors to see much – but not all – of Hollyhock House, part of the UNESCO World Heritage recognized “20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.”

Being city run, visiting Hollyhock House is reasonably priced, $7 for adults and $3 for seniors or children. I scan my pre-timed entry, and slip on mandatory shoe coverings to protect the floors and carpets while receiving my orientation talk. Don’t touch things, check. A pile of thick guidebooks sits just inside the entry and I grab one to begin my self-guided tour. Docents are also scattered around the place to help with additional questions.

The house is built in what is called “Mayan revival,” with a distinctive pattern that I guess could be taken from native roots. That pattern is found all over, from the backs of the dining room chairs, to columns and on the exterior, to the living room carpet (one Frank Lloyd Wright designed specifically), and more. However, I don’t really see Mayan when I roam around Hollyhock House. I see some southwestern or Spanish elements (the ranch style of the house and interior courtyard, for instance), as well as some of Wright’s common Asian influences, such as the spaces that combine interior and exterior features. Artwork, some original and some added much later, reenforces the Asian feel.

Only a few rooms of the house are really able to be visited. Others, like the kitchen, can be viewed from outside, while the entire second floor – only over one wing – is off-limits. The guidebook calls visitors’ attention to the features that are original, and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright himself. Much of the furniture falls into this category, as well as beautiful plate glass with iron designs in many of the windows. I am especially impressed with the dining room, although the Wright-designed signature-to-the-house chairs don’t look comfortable, and the loggia, which closes via sliding doors to both the living room and courtyard.

Today, an art gallery occupies a decent chunk of the ground floor, but the original building had two bedrooms here, and just goes to highlight the differences between what the owner wanted and what the architect’s vision was, ultimately leading to what must have been an embarrassing firing for Wright, who had only recently set up shop in Los Angeles. He was definitely known as a strong personality, and seems to have met his match in Aline Barnsdall.

Barnsdall was born in 1882 in Pennsylvania, where her father was one of the barons of the oil industry. She was an avid traveler, an art patron, and – especially for the time – a huge feminist. In 1917, she purposefully became an unmarried mother, which must have been scandalous in society life in that era. Her daughter had a room in the house specifically designed for her, along with a child-sized entrance to the back gardens, which I think was a lovely touch. However, they only stayed in the home for brief periods, returning soon to a life of travel.

The child’s room, as it is called, highlights some of the issues of Hollyhock House, as it still shows extensive water damage. Likewise, some features – such as twin pools flanking the central fireplace – never worked as designed. But still, the house and its elements that were or would become Wright staples show off.

Back in the living room, I stare around again. I would be happy in this room. The elemental relief in stone adoring the fireplace, the couches at easy angles to that feature and its empty pools, the views of the Hollywood Hills, and the light from the skylight overhead all make this an incredible space, one of the loveliest I’ve seen in the famous homes I’ve toured over the years. Custom-designed furniture meant for displaying artwork highlights the original owner and her passions, and while I can’t imagine a young child playing here, I can certainly envision a young mother relaxing after putting her to bed.

In all, my visit to Hollyhock House takes only an hour or so, but is an hour I thoroughly enjoy. I am glad the home was donated to the city of Los Angeles, and more glad that the city has invested in it in order to have it able to be seen. Add to that the surrounding Barnsdall Art Park, its theatre and studio spaces, and it is just one more lovely place here in my hometown.

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