My recent Spring Festival adventures began with a long layover in Los Angeles. My great uncle lives there and was kind enough to share the day with me as chauffeur and host. I have been trying to get to L.A. to visit several Frank Lloyd Wright designs for many years. This was the perfect opportunity. Only a few of the Wright-designed properties in the L.A. area are open to the public, but that didn’t stop us from getting a peek of some of his masterworks.
Hollyhock House
The Hollyhock House sits on the crest of a hill in Barnsdall Park. Of this lovely complex of buildings, the house is the centerpiece. It is so small and unassuming from the outside except for one view through into the courtyard. Unfortunately, it is only open for tours a few days a week. I tried to arrange a private tour, but they were not available for that day.
The park is always open. There are a couple of arts facilities on the hill too. If you visit without a tour, be sure to walk around as much as you can. As I said, I found it to be very unassuming from the outside. It is still elegant, but not a grand Hollywood mansion trying to make a boisterous statement. Instead, the beauty is subtle in the design and how it is built into the hill.
There are a few water features around the home. The most impressive is seen on the rise at the back of the house. Here a small round pool is adorned with a lovely figurative statue. This sits just in front of the opening that frames the courtyard.
All around outside, the motif that gives the house its name can be seen. This abstracted hollyhock stem with flowers is repeated in the concrete work, wood details, and windows as seen from outside. Unseen, unless on a tour, is how this motif continues into the site-specific furniture and other accessories designed by Wright.
Ennis House
From Barnsdall Park, you can see other iconic Los Angeles sights including the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Park Observatory. Also visible is another Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, the Ennis House. This concrete block mansion is familiar from a few movies including “Blade Runner” and “The Rocketeer” among many other movies and television shows.
Perched on a promontory jutting out of a dense neighborhood of winding streets and mismatched architecture, the Ennis House feels like it is emerging or trying to escape while also being firmly rooted to its place. The molded concrete blocks add a lovely texture to the otherwise drab concrete exterior. It is also obvious that the home takes full advantage of its location with the sweeping views over Los Angeles.
Of course, we couldn’t go in this amazing building. It is a private residence and only enjoyable for most people from the street outside. However, one lucky soul to go into this home is a fantastic photographer I met while working at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Andrew Pielage is on a mission to photograph all of Frank Lloyd Wright’s works, and he has done a masterful job so far. Andrew recently got insider access to both the Ennis House and Hollyhock House. The images he captured are beautiful. You can follow his work on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. He is an official photographer for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, so you will also see he work occasionally shared by the foundation’s official accounts.
Anderton Court
We didn’t have much time to visit more, but on the way back to the airport, we drove down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Tucked into the boxy luxury boutiques is a small court of shops designed by Wright in his later years. The feel definitely fits with other works by Wright in California, namely the Marin County Civic Center, north of San Francisco.
The design pulls you in and draws your eye up. At least it did for me. We didn’t have a chance to go into any of the shops or restaurants at the court. Instead, we whisked off to the airport for my next leg to Salt Lake City.
