It’s hard to be #1 when you live in LA. But Hollyhock House—a Frank Lloyd Wright building—has achieved that status, as the first LA landmark designated a World Heritage Site. See it on an urban tour of LA’s architecture and public art scene, including a Frank Lloyd Wright–themed walk through Barnsdall Art Park.
The park, Wright’s first commission in Los Angeles for Aline Barnsdall, features the Hollyhock House. Start by entering the park on the Hollywood Boulevard side, where there’s a parking area. Take the two flights of stairs up the hill to reach Barnsdall Art Park and Hollyhock House. There’s a 20-minute docent-led exterior tour of Hollyhock, Thursdays to Sundays at 11:15 a.m., 12 noon, and 12:45 p.m. (Buy your $7 ticket online prior to going.)
If you go inside the house (it’s another $7) be sure to check out the fireplace, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most treasured art pieces. And look out the window of the music room for a view of the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory, almost as if Frank Lloyd Wright had a sixth sense for the LA architectural icons that would eventually fill the Hollywood Hills.
Afterward, head to the Ennis House in nearby Los Feliz. Take a 40-minute, 1.7-mile (one-way) walk from the Barnsdall parking lot up Vermont Avenue to Glendower Avenue, the steep and winding road flanked by grand Hollywood Hills mansions, up to the Ennis House. You can also drive from the Hollyhock House and park near the intersection of N. Vermont Avenue and Glendower Avenue to then take the 0.6-mile winding road to the house.
You can only view this house from the outside, but with an expansive view of downtown LA and the Mayan-influenced architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, you’ll want to grab this house as well!
BONUS: After enjoying two Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces, drive 1 mile to the Silver Lake area to enjoy the Silver Lake Saturday/Sunday market along Sunset Boulevard. Treat yourself to the cool and delicious Taiwanese-Chinese restaurant Pine and Crane at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Griffith Park Boulevard. Find really good coffee and dessert at nearby La Colombe on Sunset Boulevard and Hyperion Avenue.
Dog-friendly, except indoors.
